A former Dallas Cowboys offensive tackle is joining the San Francisco 49ers after nearly four years with the NFC East team. Isaac Alarcón has been a unique project for the Cowboys, but he is now taking his services to the Niners.

Alarcón never hit the field for a regular-season snap, but spent several years with the Cowboys as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program. On January 23, the 49ers announced they had picked up the 25-year-old on a reserve/futures deal.

There may be Cowboys fans who are even unaware of Alarcón due to the lack of regular-season action. However, Dallas spent three-plus years developing the two-side player from Monterrey, Mexico.

Now, he will be heading to California in order to develop further. Obviously, Alarcón isn’t playing in the playoffs due to the reserve/future contract and has an uphill battle to make the roster in San Francisco.

But the 49ers wouldn’t pick him up if they didn’t think there was some chance they could develop him further.

San Francisco Sore Spot for Dallas
While the Cowboys avoided playoff elimination from the 49ers for a third consecutive year, the latest chapter in one of the NFL’s most prominent rivalries has been difficult for Dallas.

The Niners dominated the Cowboys 42-10 back on October 8. At the time, it prompted serious concerns over whether Dallas was even in the same class as San Francisco. Three months later, one team is in the NFC Championship and the other was eliminated in the NFC Wild Card round.

The fact that the Green Bay Packers eliminated Dallas and then held their own against San Francisco in the Divisional Round only adds to the juxtaposition. The Cowboys were supposed to be at the peak of their powers, but instead they were just below-par.

Alarcón has played no factor in that as a practice squad player, but Dallas fans might be watching him closely. San Francisco has consistently gotten the most out of their entire roster for years, and getting Alarcón to the next gear would prompt questions of why the Cowboys could not achieve the same.

Cowboys Sign Several Players to Futures Contracts
While Alarcón heads west, the Cowboys have also made moves involving reserve/futures contracts. As Heavy’s Jonathan Adams covered, Dallas signed 11 players for the 2024 offseason.

RB Malik Davis
RB Snoop Conner
WR Martavis Bryant
WR Jalen Moreno-Cropper
WR Racey McMath
T Earl Bostick
CB Josh Butler
TE Princeton Fant
LB Buddy Johnson
DE Durrell Johnson
DB Sheldrick Redwine
Several of those names are familiar faces for the Cowboys, such as Davis, Bryant and Fant. Others less so, but there are still some interesting possibilities with guys like Conner.

A former fifth-round pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Conner was a college star at Ole Miss. He only received limited opportunities with Jacksonville in 2022, rushing 12 times for 42 yards and one touchdown.

But in 2023, he was released and then signed to the Jaguars’ practice squad. He did not make a regular-season appearance last season, but will get a new opportunity to impress in Dallas.