Steward signed his exclusive-rights free-agent tender Tuesday, Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.

EDGE Analysis

Steward blossomed in his second NFL campaign (and his first with the Cowboys), playing in all 17 games and making five starts. He logged 40 tackles (including 1.5 sacks), three defensed passes and one forced fumble while playing mostly in the slot. He'll likely have a big role in Dallas' secondary against next season.

The Cowboys assigned Steward a one-year exclusive rights free agent tender Wednesday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

EDGE Analysis

Steward took a notable step forward in Year 2 and was especially impressive at nickel cornerback. He began the 2025 campaign playing exclusively on special teams but played over 50 percent of defensive snaps in six of Dallas' final seven contests, totaling 63 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, three defensed passes and a forced fumble while suiting up for all 17 regular-season games.

Steward finished the 2025-26 regular season with 63 tackles, including 1.5 sacks, three defensed passes and a forced fumble over 17 contests.

EDGE Analysis

Steward played exclusively on special teams in Week 1 and Week 7, but he was otherwise pretty heavily involved on defense and logged a defensive snap count north of 50 percent in six of the Cowboys' final seven games. The undrafted Troy product played in just one contest with Chicago during his rookie 2024 campaign, but he appears to have carved out a role moving forward with Dallas, especially given that Trevon Diggs was released in late December. Steward is slated to be an exclusive rights free agent, so the Cowboys are in control of whether he'll be back next season.

Steward will start at slot cornerback against the Jets on Sunday, Clarence Hill Jr. of AllDLLS.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

With Steward promoted to the slot corner position, Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland will serve as the starters on the outside while Kaiir Elam works in rotation. Steward was limited to special-teams work in Week 1 but has played a significant role on defense over the last three weeks, during which he's logged 16 tackles (12 solo) and one pass defense.