An undrafted Oregon transfer who worked his way into one of the Cowboys' better offensive line values.
T.J. Bass took the long road to the NFL, starting at a junior college before finishing at Oregon and going unsigned in the 2023 draft. Since arriving in Dallas as a free agent, he has quietly developed into a reliable interior lineman good enough for the Cowboys to keep around with a second-round tender.
Path to the league
Bass, a Mount Baker High School product out of Deming, Washington, began his college career at Butte College before transferring to Oregon, where he earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors in both 2021 and 2022. Despite that production, he went undrafted in 2023 and signed with the Cowboys as a free agent.
Career highlights
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 320 pounds, Bass has carved out a role thanks to his versatility along Dallas's offensive line, capable of playing multiple interior spots. Pro Football Focus graded him as the league's 30th-best guard in 2025, a mark that placed him ahead of more than half the starting guards in the NFL.
2025 season recap
Bass held down significant playing time on the Cowboys' offensive line in 2025, and his strong PFF grade reflected steady, dependable work in the trenches. Dallas rewarded that performance by placing a second-round restricted free agent tender on him worth $5.8 million after the season.
Sources
- Wikipedia: T. J. Bass (American football)
- Dallas Cowboys: T.J. Bass player page
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Guard
- Group
- offense
- College
- Oregon
- Hometown
- Deming, WA, USA
- Age
- 27
- Status
- active
