4 Cowboys who robbed the team blind in 2023

3. S Jayron Kearse

Kearse might stumble across this article and flame us on social media -- he loves engaging and dunking on haters on social media -- but the facts are the facts.

A free agent find in 2021 who helped transform the safety position for the Cowboys, Kearse has experienced a sharp decline this season. There's a reason Cowboys fans want second-year pro Juanyeh Thomas to get more snaps at safety. He's more reliable in coverage and the defense always seems to come up with a stop when he's on the field.

Getting back to Kearse, his 42.3 player grade and 39.9 coverage grade are his worst in three years with the team. He has more missed tackles (eight) than pressures and sacks combined (seven), and is allowing a 101.9 passer rating when targeted. His eight penalties are also the most on the defense.

The Cowboys extended Kearse some love before the season when they guaranteed his $4 million base salary. He's in the final year of a two-year, $10 million contract he signed after the 2021 campaign and will be hard-pressed to earn another contract from the team given his performance this season.