With both the UFL and NFL in their offseason lulls, it's the perfect time to dive into some offseason content. As the UFL awaits the next wave of NFL signings for the 2026 player acquisition cycle, we're taking a look back at how each NFL team has utilized spring football as a developmental pipeline during the modern era of spring football since 2022. We continue the series with the Dallas Cowboys, highlighting every spring league player the organization has signed over the past four years.
2022 Cycle:
The Cowboys were the first team to sign a USFL player in LB Christian Sam, who would be waived due to injury at the conclusion of training camp in 2022. While the Cowboys also signed Tucker Addington on their practice squad for a week in October, one of the mainstays of not just the USFL but spring football in general was the signing of KaVontae Turpin.
Turpin has been a key fixture for Dallas, slowly becoming a fixture in their offense, along with being an elite special teams player since joining the league. He’s earned 3 pro bowls, 2 All-Pro honors, over $8 million dollars earned (with another $3.5 million set to be earned in 2026), to go along with almost 6,000 all-purpose yards in 4 seasons. Turpin is the “gold standard” of spring football players that continues to reward the Cowboys for their investment in him.
2023 Cycle:
The Cowboys continued to dominate in their investment in spring football with four players signed to contracts from the 2023 class. Kicker Brandon Aubrey has obviously been the perfect follow up to Turpin, with Three Pro Bowls of his own, to go along with record setting kicks.
The Cowboys also signed DB Josh Butler, who remains with the team after missing all of 2025 with a torn ACL. Despite the injury, Butler (after spending 2023 on the Cowboys practice squad), was able to make an impact in 2024 starting several games before his season ending injury.
The Cowboys also signed two XFL players in Luq Barcoo (San Antonio Brahmas) and Martavis Bryant (Vegas Vipers) both of which had short stints on the practice squad, with no elevations. Bryant was released in the Spring of 2024 by Dallas, and Barcoo was released in the summer of 2025. Both Butler and Aubrey remain on the Cowboys roster.
2024 Cycle:
With the merger of the USFL and XFL the Cowboys continued to invest in spring football with the signing of six players from the newly formed UFL. While Deontay Burnett (Arlington Renegades), Cohl Cabral (Michigan Panthers) and Willie Harvey (St. Louis Battlehawks) all were released at the conclusion of training camp, the Cowboys did retain Jalen Dalton (San Antonio Brahmas) and Kelvin Harmon (D.C. Defenders) on their practice squad before their releases in 2025. One of the stranger stories was the Cowboys signing former 1st round pick Gereon Conley (D.C. Defenders), who would retire prior to training camp. Conley would later “unretire” and return to the UFL’s D.C. Defenders.
2025 Cycle:
After missing out on a spring football star in 2024, the Cowboys hoped that Perrion Winfrey (Birmingham Stallions) would translate in the same degree as Aubrey, and Turpin. Despite making the roster Winfrey would deal with injuries throughout the season, leading to his 2025 debut in week 12. Winfrey would appear in one game for Dallas, before his release of March of 2026, leading to his return to the UFL with short stints in Birmingham and Columbus.
The Cowboys also signed Michael Ojemudia (D.C. Defenders) who would be released during training camp from the team.
Since the return of the USFL in 2022, the Steelers have signed eighteen players to contracts, with spring football ties. The Cowboys have recently signed Ameer Speed (Houston Gamblers), Chris Glaser (Columbus Aviators), and Denzel Mims (Dallas Renegades) so far in the 2026 UFL to NFL signing cycle.
Currently, the Cowboys have also rostered Wide Receiver KaVontae Turpin, Kicker Brandon Aubrey, and Cornerback Josh Butler who are all set to have contributing roles in 2026, solidifying Dallas’ record with identifying and managing spring football talent.
UFL to NFL signings will continue once the teams begin training camp, later in July.