Jayron Kearse wasn't supposed to have a huge impact in Dallas. When he was signed last March, the thought was that he was a depth piece to the safety position, and, well, that was pretty much it.

Entering his seventh season, Kearse has gotten a lot of love for his performance in 2021 to the point that he was named the Cowboys' most improved player and the one free agent Dallas should keep.

The Cowboys feel the same way, it seems. According to Bobby Belt of 105.3 The Fan, the Cowboys have begun negotiations to bring Kearse back to Dallas.

With Malik Hooker and Damontae Kazee set to test the free-agent market, Donovan Wilson is the only safety on the roster with significant starting experience. This is why the Cowboys retaining Kearse would be a huge win.

Although he didn't start in the Cowboys' season opener last season, Kearse managed to play 62% of the team's defensive snaps (40) and logged 10 tackles. Kearse was given the starting role a week later and he flourished.

Over the next five games, Kearse recorded at least five tackles in each and amassed four quarterback hits and two passes defended. In the Cowboys' Week 7 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, the team that drafted Kearse in the seventh round in 2016, he was given the ultimate validation from defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.

Quinn gave Kearse the green dot, which meant he was the guy responsible for communicating the defensive play calls from Quinn. It was especially validating since Kearse took over for linebacker Micah Parsons. He recorded six tackles in the Cowboys' 20-16 win.

Head coach Mike McCarthy spoke about how Kearse excelled in his new responsibility.

“There’s some game-planning components to it. We made the change," McCarthy said. "Micah was still a part of the rotation. But I thought Jayron did an excellent job with the communication. He’s an excellent communicator. It was probably as clean as a performance as we’ve had.”

Kearse kept that momentum throughout the entire season. He ended up leading the Cowboys and setting a career-high with 101 tackles. Also, his two interceptions and 10 passes defended were personal bests. The latter led all safeties in that particular area.

Coming to Dallas reunited Jayron Kearse with George Edwards, who is the Cowboys' senior defensive assistant and was the defensive coordinator during Kearse's four-year stint with the Vikings. Kearse mentioned how his assignments with the Cowboys were similar to what he did in Minnesota, which undoubtedly helped him have a career year.

“Really some of the same things I’ve done in Minnesota, playing the nickel position and when we get into bigger personnels, having a role to play the dime position where I’m covering tight ends and things like that,” Kearse said.“For me, that was something I was familiar with and something I excelled in, in that particular role.”

Bringing Jayron Kearse back would give the Cowboys something to work with next season at safety when adding the aforementioned Wilson in the mix. Also, it shouldn't stop the Cowboys from addressing the position in the draft next month.

The Cowboys have received salary cap relief by restructuring the deals of Dak Prescott and Zack Martin. It appears getting Kearse back in the building is a part of this strategy and it would be a wise move for the Cowboys to do so.

Feature image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports