FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys continue to fill the holes on their roster, agreeing to a one-year deal with tight end Blake Bell, the team announced Wednesday.
The Cowboys lost Jason Witten to the Las Vegas Raiders at the start of free agency after signing Blake Jarwin to a four-year deal worth up to $24 million and needed a blocking tight end. Bell, at 6-foot-6, 252 pounds, fits that role after starting a career-high seven games last season with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Witten handled most of the blocking situations in 2020, while Jarwin is considered more of a pass-catching tight end.
For his career, Bell has 38 receptions for 424 yards. He caught his first touchdown pass in the Chiefs' divisional round playoff win over the Houston Texans and caught one pass in their Super Bowl LIV win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Bell joins a tight-end room that includes Jarwin, Dalton Schultz and Cole Hikutini. The Cowboys could look for a tight end in the draft, but the addition of Bell makes that less imperative.
So far, the Cowboys' biggest free-agent addition from outside the building is defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who agreed to a three-year, $18 million deal. They continue to have talks with free-agent defensive tackle Dontari Poe, according to sources.
The other additions have been safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and cornerback Maurice Canady, while the team has re-signed wide receiver Amari Cooper, linebackers Sean Lee, Joe Thomas and Justin March, guard/center Joe Looney, cornerbacks Anthony Brown and C.J. Goodwin, long snapper L.P. Ladouceur, kicker Kai Forbath, and safety Darian Thompson.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was given the exclusive franchise tag that secures his rights for 2020, but the team hopes to work out a multiyear agreement.