The Dallas Cowboys are set to sign Ameer Speed during minicamp, giving themselves another cornerback option as they keep building out the roster before the 2026 season. Speed, a former Houston Texans defender, was recently brought in for a workout at The Star before Dallas moved to add him.
The move fits the Cowboys' search for depth at a point in the calendar when every practice rep matters. Speed was a sixth-round pick by the New England Patriots in the 2023 NFL Draft, and his path since then has run through the Patriots and Colts, the Chicago Bears, the Houston Texans and most recently the UFL's Houston franchise. He has 17 career regular season games under his belt, but none as a starter.
That background is what makes him more of a roster test than a sure thing. Speed has played only 15 defensive snaps across those 17 appearances, while doing most of his work on special teams, where he has logged 280 snaps. He has 11 total tackles, including nine solo tackles, and one tackle for loss, numbers that show a player who has stayed around NFL buildings by contributing in the margins rather than locking down a full-time defensive role.
There is also some fine print in the résumé. New England waived Speed midway through his rookie year before Indianapolis acquired him, and he went on to play five games for the Patriots and eight for the Colts during the 2023 season. He then appeared in two games with the Houston Texans last season before his most recent stop in the UFL. The Cowboys are not committing to more than a look, at least not yet, and the next evaluation will come when training camp and preseason begin.
If Speed sticks, it will likely be because he proves useful in the same place he has made his living so far: on special teams, with enough secondary flexibility to keep him in the conversation for a practice squad spot or a deeper role. If he does not, this will be another brief stop in a career that has already moved quickly from team to team.
