Dallas Cowboys exploring ‘all avenues’ to address glaring linebacker need
Although the Dallas Cowboys addressed some of their defensive needs in free agency, a glaring hole still exists at the linebacker position.
With just three off-ball linebackers on the roster, and none with green-dot experience as the lead communicator and signal-caller, the need for a player in the middle of the defense hasn’t been this dire in a long time for the franchise.
It wasn’t without effort, though. Speaking at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Phoenix on Monday, head coach Brian Schottenheimer and executive vice president Stephen Jones explained swinging and missing on a handful of linebackers in free agency and how it has left them in the situation they see today.
“We made a run at some guys in free agency,” Schottenheimer said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. And what do you do, you just adjust. It’s something we’re working on 365 [days], 24-7. We’ve got a good plan. We’ve got firepower now going into the draft. We’re not done. We’re always open for business.”
“It’s well-written that we made some runs,” Jones said. “We didn’t get it done. Obviously, that’s something that we haven’t checked that box yet. We have the draft ahead of us and some other opportunities that might present themselves.”
In free agency, the Cowboys targeted three players at the position: former Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean, former Packers linebacker Quay Walker and former Jaguars linebacker Devin Lloyd. Although Dean and Walker did want to play together at their next stop, they elected to do so with the Las Vegas Raiders despite strong pushes from Dallas.
“We were trying,” Schottenheimer said. “If they don’t take the money, they don’t take the money. I felt like the offers that we made were very fair. They were big numbers. They were very competitive. It is hard to compete with a couple of former teammates that want to go play together ... That is the business. You pivot and you get excited.”
“It’s like when you lose a football game on a last second field goal. You can feel bad for yourself or you can say, ‘We did our best, let’s move on.’”
The next steps have included scavenging potential trade targets and draft prospects with a potential first-round pick. Selecting at No. 12 and No. 20 overall could give Dallas an advantage at finding a middle linebacker, but he will have to check a lot of boxes.
“Yeah, depending on who the guy is and what their football instincts are and things like that,” Schottenheimer said when asked if a rookie could be the guy. “It’s happened before. Again, he’s going to be surrounded by a lot of really good veteran players at all three levels. And so I think that if you get the right guy, absolutely.”
A year ago, a similar conversation was being had about finding a second wide receiver to complement CeeDee Lamb. After not taking one with any of their 2025 draft picks, the Cowboys traded for George Pickens shortly after the draft to solidify the room. A similar strategy could be in play in 2026 at the linebacker spot in the trade market, even if it is again something that has to wait until after the draft.
“I don’t think it has to be before the draft,” Jones said. “I go back to player acquisition is 365 days a year. We’ve gotten good players after the draft in terms of players that have played in the league. There’s always opportunities for trades. We’ll continue to look at every avenue. Obviously, the draft is one of them as well.”
“Our plan is to add skill at that position. We’ll look at all avenues.”
