The Dallas Cowboys‘ cornerstone C.J. Goodwin is calling it a career. The 36-year-old free agent confirmed his retirement from the NFL, closing out a journey that started as an undrafted signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers back in 2014. Goodwin spent twelve years proving doubters wrong, and now, after eight seasons with the Cowboys, is calling it quits. He didn’t even wait for a press conference to do it. Goodwin broke the news this weekend, ending a career nobody saw coming in the quietest way possible.

“What a ride for Linsly grad CJ Goodwin‼️ He’s calling it a career after 12 years in the NFL, the past 8 with the Cowboys,” Rob Metzger posted on X.

Goodwin did not announce this decision via a press release or big announcement. Instead, he broke the news to Rob Metzger at WTOV9 at his ninth annual PEGA Foundation All-Star Sports Camp.

“Goodwin is giving back again after a 12th season in the NFL, the last eight with the Dallas Cowboys,” Rob Metzger said. “And it turns out that eighth season in Dallas and 12th overall in the league will be his last. Goodwin is calling it a career. And tonight, his family hosted a celebration in honor of that career. Goodwin carved out 10 seasons on active NFL rosters, first with Atlanta, where he played defense in the Super Bowl, and then embraced his role as a Dallas Cowboys special teams ace for eight seasons. The journey to the NFL was unexpected.”

Before he ever became a fixture in Dallas, Goodwin bounced around the league trying to find a roster that would stick. He started with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014, grinding it out on the practice squad before getting his first real shot with the Atlanta Falcons, where he spent three seasons carving out a role from 2015 to 2017.

He also had a brief spell with the Cardinals in 2017, but his real test was in 2018, which saw him go through practice-squad moves with several teams, as the Giants, 49ers, and Bengals all in a matter of months. Just when it looked like he might run out of chances, the Cowboys came calling. He signed in 2018 and never left, turning it into an eight-season home that lasted all the way through 2025.

The numbers tell their own story. He has played in 136 career games, recording 94 tackles, two forced fumbles, and thousands of special teams snaps that rarely make headlines but always matter.

C.J. Goodwin’s impact on the Cowboys

By the time the Cowboys finally signed him off Cincinnati’s practice squad in October 2018, Goodwin had already worn six different uniforms. Turns out Dallas was the one that fit. He went on to suit up for 108 games with the team, second only to Dak Prescott in tenure, who’d arrived just two years earlier.

What made Goodwin stick around so long wasn’t flash. It was special teams work, the kind that rarely gets headlines but always shows up on film. From 2019, he has been among the most dependable names in the special teams with a total of 69 tackles with the Cowboys, making him rank ninth all-time in franchise history, as stated by the official Cowboys website. He has also amassed 2,211 plays on special teams.

By 2021, he had achieved an accolade no other player in Dallas team history could achieve, leading the special teams tackles for three consecutive seasons. Such an accomplishment builds trust, and in 2025, Dallas rewarded him by selecting him as one of six team captains, making him the second captain on special teams alongside Brandon Aubrey. That year, he recorded 18 special teams tackles.

Now Dallas has to figure out how to replace that. It won’t be easy. Safety P.J. Locke, one of the team’s offseason additions, brings a real special teams pedigree and could end up being a key piece for coordinator Nick Sorensen as he heads into year two, trying to fill a void that took eight seasons to build.