Former USF receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling was an experienced and inexpensive insurance policy when the Dallas Cowboys signed him in late April.
The Cowboys and star receiver George Pickens were in a contract argument that had gotten increasingly nasty, so the team had to hedge its bets. At $187,000 guaranteed and the same amount thrown in as a signing bonus, signing MVS made sense.
But Pickens and the team agreed on a deal that will pay him $27 million this season, so most observers believe the Cowboys won't need the insurance MVS brings. As a side note, that's only about $2 million less than Valdes-Scantling made through a career entering its ninth season -- not that any of us would complain about making that much money over eight years.
He made the field Saturday when the Cowboys beat Seattle 17-7, but was targeted just one time, That did not result in a catch.
Dallas Cowboys WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (@MVS__11) is wearing number 11. Last assigned to Parris Campbell. #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/rkUL5gLlg0
— NFL Jersey Numbers (@nfl_jersey_num) May 27, 2026
Dallas Morning News beat writer Joseph Hoyt predicts MVS will be one of the cuts. He is not the only one who believes that. Valdes-Scantling clearly faces uphill odds.
If MVS does not make the Dallas roster, it could mark the end of a career that began in 2018 when Green Bay took him in the fifth round of the draft.
I won't completely sell out to that notion, though. There are 31 other teams besides Dallas in the NFL and Valdes-Scantling could be someone who could help a team in an injury pinch.
Even if that doesn't happen, MVS will be able to look back on a career that was an unqualified success. His performance in two seasons at USF (he is No. 12 on the all-time Bulls receiving yards list) got him drafted in the NFL.
He was part of two Super Bowl championship teams with Kansas City.
He had 116 yards receiving and a touchdown for the Chiefs in their 2023 AFC Championship Game win. He had three catches and a touchdown when Kansas City beat San Francisco 25-22 in overtime the following year.
Two Super Bowl rings.
A lot of money.
An abundance of priceless memories.
That's a win.
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