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1995 NFL offseason

The 1995 NFL offseason.

A chronological guide to the transactions and decisions surrounding the 1995 NFL offseason.

Open the full season →Every offseason by year

In the order it happened

The transaction timeline

The draft, major signings, trades and roster decisions are ordered chronologically. Complete draft boards, trade packages and free-agent jersey changes are embedded at the moment they happened.

  1. April 22 · NFL Draft

    Cincinnati trades up for Ki-Jana Carter →

    The Bengals moved to No. 1 for Carter, while the same first round produced Hall of Famers Steve McNair, Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks and Ty Law.

    The complete draft board is preserved beside this moment →

    Draft board

    1995 NFL

    01
    1

    First overall selection

    Ki-Jana Carter

    Cincinnati Bengals

    Open every pick

  2. Summer · Cap strategy

    Dallas waits for the market's most magnetic defender

    The defending champion 49ers could not keep every veteran under the cap, and Dallas preserved room for the free agent who had helped defeat it.

  3. September 9 · Free agency

    Deion Sanders crosses the NFC rivalry

    Sanders left San Francisco for Dallas after an extended courtship, giving the Cowboys the matchup corner they needed for another championship run.

    Follow the jersey change beside this moment →

    46Free agencySeptember 9, 1995From SFSFSANDERS21To DALDALSANDERS21Deion crosses the NFC rivalry againDallas signed the corner who had helped San Francisco dethrone it, turning the league's defining rivalry into a free-agent arms race.San Francisco 49ers → Dallas CowboysOpen offseason →

  4. Opening month · Season setup

    The league's strongest rivalry changes uniforms

    Sanders's move made the Cowboys–49ers struggle feel like a true arms race and set up Dallas's third championship in four seasons.