Dak Prescott's Dallas Cowboys lost a key contributor on Monday.
NFL's free agency began with a longtime Cowboys player leaving. After eight seasons in Dallas, Jourdan Lewis signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ian Rapoport noted that Lewis became the league's highest-paid nickel cornerback.
Prescott celebrated his former teammate's payday Monday.
"The most deserved!" Prescott wrote on Instagram Stories.
A year after Dallas scooped up Prescott in the fourth round, the Cowboys selected Lewis in the third round of the 2017 NFL Draft. He's started 64 of 115 games played.
Last year, Lewis played a key role in a secondary that played most of the season without All-Pro cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland. The 5-foot-10 defender tallied a career-high 71 tackles with eight pass-breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
According to Pro Football Reference, Lewis allowed 5.2 yards per target in coverage. Pro Football Focus graded him 36th among 223 cornerbacks.
Lewis joins a Jaguars secondary that allowed an NFL-worst 257.4 passing yards per game last season. Jacksonville also relinquished the league's second-highest opposing passing rating (103.4) after the Carolina Panthers.
New general manager James Gladstone had a busy start to his first free agency. The Jaguars also signed safety Eric Murray away from the Houston Texans and added guard Patrick Mekari and center Robert Hainsey to their defensive line.
Prescott wasn't the only Cowboys star glad for Lewis. While sad to see him go, Micah Parsons congratulated his former teammate.
"Dog! Earned for sure!" Parsons wrote. "Congrats family def gonna [be] missed!"
Meanwhile, Lewis marked the move by posting the now infamous clip of his new head coach, Liam Coen, awkwardly leading a "Duval!" rallying cry at his introductory press conference. The 29-year-old also shared a short and sweet message on X.
"Cowboys nation, thank you," Lewis said.
