We're only another year or two away from asking Marquez Valdes-Scantling for the list of franchises in the National Football League for which he hasn't played yet.
Credit Valdes-Scantling, a veteran wide receiver, for catching on with as many teams as he has since entering the league in 2018. From being a day three draft pick as a kid out of South Florida with the Green Bay Packers (taken in the fifth round at No. 174 overall), MVS has done very well for himself in terms of both production and longevity, especially considering the obvious odds that come with any late-round selection.
Lest anyone thought Valdes-Scantling was going to fade away coming into 2026, the Dallas Cowboys have given him a place to land after wrapping up their draft business. Tom Pelissero reported the news as a one-year signing for MVS.
Valdes-Scantling's addition for the Cowboys is interesting, considering there's very little in the way of new competition there. He is the only new addition to the offense at wideout among free agents, and the Cowboys also largely ignored the position in the 2026 NFL Draft, with only a seventh-round investment in East Carolina's Anthony Smith. Of course, there's plenty of chatter around the position, but that centers on the future of George Pickens and whether or not the team will trade him or lock him up with a long-term extension.
That doesn't mean Valdes-Scantling should feel completely safe, of course. Any free agent added after the draft on a one-year deal knows they are going to have to come in and compete for a roster spot. That's true here as well, where DaVontae Turpin is already in place as a vertical threat. With Perkins, Ceedee Lamb, and Ryan Flournoy already atop the depth chart, the Cowboys don't need MVS to make a major impact. Jonathan Mingo, Smith, and Parris Campbell are also in the mix.
As for Valdes-Scantling's employment history, he entered the league with the Green Bay Packers and remained with them for the full four-year duration of his rookie deal. He squeezed in three more seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs, who signed him in free agency in 2022, before being released with a year left on his contract.
Since getting his pink slip from the Chiefs, Valdes-Scantling has peppered NFL rosters from coast to coast. Just in the last two years alone, he's been employed by the Buffalo Bills, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks, San Francisco 49ers, and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Cowboys slide in as the eighth team on his NFL passport, a book full of stamps at this point.
Valdes-Scantling averaged 32 catches for 501 yards in his two seasons with the Chiefs, with two championship rings to show for his efforts. Since then, his stints with the Bills, Niners, and Steelers were all short-lived stays with scant production. However, if the Cowboys are interested in a glass-half-full viewpoint of the signing, it's notable that the Saints seemed to unlock something in their half-season with him—with 17 catches for 385 yards and 4 touchdowns in the final 8 games of '24.
He's hardly a roster lock, but there's also a vertical upside play here and some depth for training camp for the Cowboys in the Valdes-Scantling signing. And if nothing else, he's now reached 25 percent of all NFL teams on his employment record.
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