The Dallas Cowboys added veteran interior depth on Sept. 1, 2026, signing defensive tackle Elijah Garcia to the practice squad after Carolina released him in final cuts, via the NFL transaction wire.
Garcia, a 6-foot-5, 302-pound former Rice Owl, arrived as a known commodity rather than a developmental flyer: an undrafted 2022 free agent who has bounced from the Rams to Denver, New York, Atlanta, and Carolina while collecting 28 career tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery in 17 regular-season games.
The Cowboys listed him as a defensive tackle, though he has also lined up as a defensive end.
At 28, he brings size, gap strength, and a bull rush that practice-squad evaluators like for scout-team work and emergency call-ups.
Dallas can elevate two practice-squad players on game days, and each player can be elevated only three times in a season, so Garcia immediately becomes part of the club’s weekly depth math along the defensive front.
Garcia’s most substantial NFL stretch came with the New York Giants in 2024 and 2025.
Signed to New York’s practice squad in August 2024, he was promoted in December and started three games that season, finishing with 14 tackles.
In 2025 he was waived, re-signed to the practice squad, elevated multiple times, and later signed off that squad by Atlanta in mid-November.
Those Giants snaps included work against familiar NFC East offenses—and even a memorable sack of Dak Prescott in a prior meeting—so Dallas already has film of him from both sides of the rivalry.
Before landing in Frisco, Garcia spent the 2026 preseason with the Panthers and posted seven tackles and a sack. Atlanta had re-signed him in April after his late-2025 stint, then released him in June.
The Cowboys paired his signing with offensive tackle Wanya Morris as they filled out a 16-man practice squad (plus an International Player Pathway spot).
Official team notes and local reports framed the move as interior insurance rather than a 53-man roster shakeup; no corresponding cut was required.
For Dallas, the addition is low-risk depth. Garcia is a physical run defender who can occupy blockers and hustle to the ball.
For Garcia, it is another chance to stay on an NFL roster after a journeyman path that already includes multiple practice-squad promotions.
Whether he remains a scout-team staple or gets a game-day elevation will depend on injuries and weekly needs, but the Cowboys now have a large, experienced body who has already seen live snaps against this division.
