Cowboys’ 2025 free agent profile: WR KaVontae Turpin

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The Cowboys would be wise to bring KaVontae Turpin back in 2025.

The Dallas Cowboys have a long list of free agents who will officially hit the open market in a little over two months. Of those, six or seven were significant contributors in 2024, meaning the Cowboys have some difficult decisions ahead of them in the next two months.

Today, we continue our series by looking at a player coming off the best overall season of his career, wide receiver KaVontae Turpin.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

2024 Regular Season Stats: 17G, 31 Receptions, 420 Receiving Yards, 2 Receiving Touchdowns, 48.1% Receiving Success Rate, 16 Rushes, 92 Rushing Yards, 904 Kickoff Return Yards, 33.5 Y/Ret (Kickoff), 1 KRTD, 1 PRTD

Year Review: 2024 was a big year for 28-year-old KaVontae Turpin. The former undrafted free agent took a significant leap forward this season, propelling himself from being looked at solely as one of the best special teams players in all of football to an adequate receiving threat as well.

On the season, Turpin posted career-highs in nearly every offensive statistical category. His receptions (31) and receiving yards (420) more than doubled from his 2023 totals, and his 13.5 Y/Rec was the highest among the Cowboys’ qualified wide receivers.

Late in the season, the Cowboys also started to use Turpin’s game-changing speed in the run game. In Dallas’ last five contests, the second-year pro ran the ball 10 times for 76 yards, averaging an extremely impressive 7.60 Y/A. Turpin recorded first downs on four of his 10 rushes over this span and was inches away from breaking multiple significant runs.

Turpin’s increase in offensive performance did not affect his dominance in the return game one bit. He led the NFL in kickoff return yards (904) and yards per kickoff return (33.5) and was the only player in the NFL to return both a kick and punt for a touchdown this season. Turpin’s dominance in the return game earned him the honor of being selected as a special teams First-Team All-Pro (kick returner) earlier this week.

Overall, 2024 was an outstanding season for the 5’9” wideout. It seems like the Cowboys are just scratching the surface of what Turpin can accomplish on offense, and it will be interesting to see how they continue to increase his role if he returns to Dallas.

Free Agency Outlook: Turpin is one of Dallas’ four restricted free agents this year. This means that Dallas will have a chance to place a tender on Turpin, allowing them to match an offer sheet from another team. If a draft pick value is attached to the tender, the Cowboys would receive draft compensation if they were to let Turpin walk.

Since Turpin was an undrafted free agent, it’s unlikely the Cowboys will place the original round or right of first-refusal tender on the receiver/return specialist. If they did so and Turpin signed an offer sheet the Cowboys refused to match, they would receive no draft compensation. This makes it highly likely Dallas will place the second-round tender on Turpin, worth a projected $5,217,000.

If Dallas does go ahead and make Turpin a second-round tender, the question becomes, will another team value Turpin’s offensive potential enough to be willing to part with a second-round pick? If a team picking late in the second round believes they have an innovative enough offense to use Turpin’s otherworldly speed, combined with his unmatched ability in the return game, they may debate parting with an early-round selection. Teams like the Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, and Philadelphia Eagles, with creative play-callers and late second-round picks, may be interested in Turpin this spring.

Cowboys Verdict: As mentioned above, the logical decision for the Cowboys is to make Turpin a second-round tender worth a little over $5M. The hard part for Dallas is deciding if they believe what Turpin brings on offense and the return game is worth the $5M they could use to retain a more consistently usable player like Rico Dowdle or Chauncey Golston.

Dallas could easily bring Turpin back for the $5.2M and re-sign both Dowdle and Golston, but we all know how stingy the Jones’ are with their money, and they may be looking to cut costs once again this offseason. One thing going against Turpin is guys like Dowdle and Golston could be a starter on the 2025 Cowboys, or at least in heavy rotation. As much potential as Turpin did show, there is an offensive ceiling he will likely not surpass, and he’ll never be a player who’s able to play 75% or more of the offensive snaps.

If Dallas does place the second-round tender on Turpin and he is prepared to sign an offer sheet from another club, it will be interesting to see how tempted Dallas is to take the draft pick compensation. In their minds, the 55th-64th pick in the draft may be more valuable to their team than what Turpin brings.

At the end of the day, as tempting as it may be with Turpin’s unique skillset, it’s probably pretty unlikely a team will part with a second-round pick to acquire him, making a return to Dallas the most likely outcome this spring.

Prediction: KaVontae Turpin accepts the Dallas Cowboys second-round tender worth $5,217,000.