Caelen
Carson
CB
#21
Caelen Carson
#21CB
Dallas Cowboys
Height : 6' 0" · Weight : 195 lbs · Age : 24
NFL record
| Year | Team | GP | TOT | SOLO | AST | SACK | FF | FR | YDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Dallas Cowboys | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | Dallas Cowboys | 8 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Contract
Dallas Cowboys payroll →- 2026 cap number
- 1.14 M$
- Average per year
- 1.07 M$
- Total value
- 4.3 M$
- Seasons left
- 2 · through 2027
2026
1.14 M$
Not guaranteed
2027
1.25 M$
Not guaranteed
Cap number: the season's salary plus the share of the signing bonus spread over the contract. Total value and average per year cover the whole contract, from its signing.
Advanced stats, 2025 Safeties
NFL stats →2025 season. The percentile ranks the player among regular safeties: 90th means better than 90% of them.
Tackles
17
0th percentile
Interceptions
0
13th percentile
Passes defended
2
9th percentile
Targets in coverage
19
Yards allowed
176 yd
Yards allowed per target
9.3 yd
29th percentile
Passer rating allowed
88.9
71th percentile
Missed tackle rate
5.6 %
85th percentile
Tackles for loss
1
23th percentile
Defensive snaps
211
0th percentile
Regular season. Data: nflverse (play-by-play, snap counts), Next Gen Stats, Pro Football Reference. EPA: expected points added. CPOE: completion percentage over expected.
2026 projection
NFL trends →Projected WAR
-0.1
Games
7
WAR 2025
-0.1
Games played
8
The pace of the last three seasons (WAR per game, 60/25/15), pulled toward the group average, over the games expected from his availability in the last two, adjusted for age.
Trend
→ Stable (+7)
- 2024-0.3 WAR · -0.050 per game
- 2025-0.1 WAR · -0.013 per game
The trend compares this season's WAR per game with last season's, weighted by games played.
Outlook, age included
+32 · 23 y.o. · usually still improving
It is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes.
Player ratings, 2025
All ratings →Ratings from 0 to 100, computed over four seasons from data, never by hand, against regulars in the same position group. 75 = established regular, 87 = 90th percentile, 95+ = elite.
OV · Overall
49
Backup or prospect
- COV
- Coverage
- 67
- BAL
- Ball skills
- 64
- TCK
- Tackling
- 69
- DUR
- Durability
- 35
- EX
- Experience
- 25
Why these ratings?Hide details
- COV — Coverage : Yards and passer rating allowed per target
- BAL — Ball skills : Ball carrier: fumbles avoided. Defender: interceptions and passes defended
- TCK — Tackling : Tackles made and missed tackles
- DUR — Durability : Games played out of his team's, over several seasons
- EX — Experience : Seasons in the NFL
WAR and PAL Rating, 2025
How we rate →WAR: the EPA (expected points added) of every play, above replacement level, shared among those who made it, then converted to wins (35.3 points = one win). PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against regulars in the same group (50 = median).
WAR
-0.1
PAL Rating
37 / 100
Value Rating · 2025
50 / 100
2025 PAL (37) against 2026 salary: the contract's average per year (APY), $1.1M.PAL expected for this salary: 33Rookie-scale contract: a salary set by the draft, not the market.PAL: dimensions
Where WAR comes from (in wins)
Half the EPA of his sacks, interceptions, passes defended, forced fumbles, tackles for loss and QB hits, against his position's average per snap.
Yards allowed per target against his position's average, 0.12 points per yard (measured).
Replacement level: the share of defense the league spends on his position (by payroll), prorated by snaps.
How much better or worse than average his team's defense was (EPA allowed), minus what is already credited to players, prorated by snaps.
The individual part is splash plays and coverage. The rest is the position share and his team's defense, split by snaps played.
| Season | Team | G | WAR | PAL | OV | Tkl | INT | PD | Yds/tgt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | DAL | 8 | -0.1 | 37 | 49 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 9.3 |
| 2024 | DAL | 6 | -0.3 | 13 | 35 | 26 | 0 | 4 | 10.9 |
Caelen Carson in five questions
What are Caelen Carson's stats in 2025?
Caelen Carson has 0 interceptions and 2 passes defensed in 8 games in 2025.
How old and how tall is Caelen Carson?
Caelen Carson is 24 years old. He is 6'0" (183 cm) and weighs 194 lb (88 kg).
How good is Caelen Carson?
Caelen Carson produced -0.1 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025. His PAL rating is 37 out of 100: below average for his position.
How much does Caelen Carson make?
Caelen Carson earns $1.1M for the 2025 season. His Value Rating is 50 out of 100 (fair value): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
What number does Caelen Carson wear, and what team does he play for?
Caelen Carson plays for Dallas Cowboys in the NFL, at CB, and wears number 21.
