Cowboys re-sign DT Johnathan Hankins to one-year contract, continue to maintain defensive continuity

Defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who turns 31 on Thursday, received an early birthday present from the Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday: a new, one-year deal.

Hankins joined the Cowboys, along with a 2024 seventh-round pick, in a trade from the Raiders in exchange for a 2023 sixth-round pick last season. He appeared in five games with the Cowboys, starting three. He tallied 10 tackles and a tackle for loss. A second-round pick of the Giants in 2013, Hankins played his first four seasons with the G-Men (2013-2016), one with the Indianapolis Colts (2017) and then played four-and-half seasons with the Raiders (2018-2022) before coming to Dallas at the trade deadline last season. 

With defensive coordinator Dan Quinn overseeing the Cowboys' fifth-ranked scoring defense (20.1 points per game allowed) in 2022, Jerry Jones has made it a point of emphasis to re-sign essentially every key player from that unit who has hit the free agent market. Safety Donovan Wilson, linebacker Leighton Vander Esch, and defensive end Dante Fowler have also all been retained, leading to Dallas once again poised to have one of the NFL's top defenses in 2023.