Cowboys Predicted to Add 2-Time Super Bowl Champion LB
Whatever you might think of the Dallas Cowboys defense this season — which is likely varying degrees of disgust — we can all agree that whatever version the franchise rolls out in 2026 will have a variety of different faces.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox thinks one of those new faces could be Kansas City Chiefs linebacker and 2-time Super Bowl champion inside linebaker Leo Chenal in the next free agency cycle.
Chenal, a 2022 third round pick (No. 103 overall), is in the final season of his 4-year, $5.04 million rookie contract and the Chiefs are already paying their other 2 inside linebackers, Drue Tranquill and Nick Bolton, big money. It’s far fetched to think they’ll pay a third with Chenal, who is just as deserving.
That opens the door for the Cowboys got get Chenal, who Knox has ranked as the No. 9 free agent in 2026 in his latest Top 50 rankings.
“Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Leo Chenal plays a specific role in Steve Spagnuolo’s defense,” Knox wrote. “He’s an early-down run defender who didn’t even reach 50 percent of the defensive snaps before this season. However, the 25-year-old has been terrific in that role and should be viewed as a very good defensive starter. Chenal appeared in all 17 games last season, finishing with 60 tackles, a sack and four tackles for loss. He’s on pace to surpass those numbers this season.”
From Big Ten Star to Super Bowl Champion
One of the things the Cowboys should consider in signing free agents next year is where they come from — getting a winner like Chenal would be great for a locker room essentially devoid of winners.
Chenal, 6-foot-3 and 250 pounds, was an All-American linebacker and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year at the University of Wisconsin in 2021 and has played in 3 Super Bowls in his first 3 seasons with the Chiefs.
The Cowboys could use a little more of that on the roster — they’re currently ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams in total defense.
Cowboys Just Traded for Inside Linebacker
While there is no player on the defense for the Cowboys who is untouchable right now outside of newly acquired Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, it’s worth pointing out they also just traded for someone who plays Chenal’s position.
The Cowboys were the talk of the NFL in the hours leading up to the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, November 4, by making blockbuster deals for Williams and for Cincinnati Bengals inside linebacker Logan Wilson.
Both should be in the starting lineup when the Cowboys, who are in a bye in Week 10, return to action in a Week 11 Monday Night Football road game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Still, Wilson might not be the answer the Cowboys are hoping for. And he’s expensive.
The Bengals signed Wilson, 29 years old, to a 4-year, $36 million contract extension before the 2023 season. While the Cowboys are only on the hook for roughly half of the $5.918 million he’s owed this season, that number goes up to $6.55 million in 2026 and $7.21 million in the final year of his contract in 2027.
“Logan Wilson was a player the Bengals weren’t using that much and had asked to be traded,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano said on November 4. “So they get a player from the only NFL defense arguably worse than theirs.”
Hall of Famer Gives Bold Marcus Mariota, Jayden Daniels Take
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A Hall of Fame QB gave a bold take about Washington Commanders passers Marcus Mariota and Jayden Daniels.
If it wasn’t for Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota would be the starting quarterback for the Washington Commanders, and a highly effective one. That’s according to a Hall of Famer who’s one of the best to ever play the position.
The hot take about Daniels’ deputy comes from Super Bowl winner Kurt Warner. Once at the controls for the famed ‘Greatest Show on Turf,’ Warner acknowledged Mariota “may not be a starter in every system, but he’s in the right system in WASH & I believe if JD wasn’t there he would be a solid starter in the NFL there!”
Warner based his assessment on the brilliance of Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The latter is one of 54-year-old Warner’s “favorite play designer/callers,” and Kingsbury is credited with “good solid concepts that connect & have answers for QB!”
That’s no faint praise from somebody who made the 1999 and 2001 St. Louis Rams legendary among NFL offenses, before inspiring a high-powered Arizona Cardinals attack to earn the first and only Super Bowl berth in franchise history during the 2008 season.
Warner’s praise also underlines the smart team building undertaken by Commanders general manager Adam Peters. He safeguarded young star Daniels with a proven and scheme-friendly backup like Mariota.
Peters’ work was endorsed by another stellar cameo from Mariota in Week 3.
Marcus Mariota Has Repaired Career With Commanders
He didn’t make the grade with the Tennessee Titans, despite entering the pros as the second-overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft. Nor could he salvage his reputation during stints with the Atlanta Falcons and Las Vegas Raiders, but Mariota is repairing his career with the Commanders.
The 31-year-old is 2-1 as a starter for the Burgundy and Gold after being a model of efficiency during the recent 41-24 win over former team the Raiders. Mariota was understandably emotional after rushing for a touchdown and throwing for another at Northwest Stadium.
Plays like those are made possible because Kingsbury schemes so effectively for Mariota. His dual-threat talents mirror those of Daniels, and Mariota remains an effective runner on read-option plays, like the one highlighted by Commanders analyst Chad Ryan.
Gashing defenses on the ground has always been a core part of Mariota’s skill-set, but the Commanders aren’t being rendered one-dimensional whenever he steps in for injured Daniels.
Instead, Kingsbury is confident enough to scheme progressive throws designed to move the chains in big chunks. Mariota accepted the challenge by bossing the Silver and Black “on throws past the sticks,” per Pro Football Focus.
Being able to maintain what they do on the ground and through the air is why the Commanders handed Mariota a one-year contract worth $8 million this offseason. It’s handsome money for a a backup, but Mariota is playing himself into genuine interest in 2026 free agency, creating a not-insignificant potential problem for his current team.
Commanders Will Struggle to Find a Better Backup for Jayden Daniels
The Commanders used the second pick in the 2024 draft to take Daniels to be a franchise quarterback, and he’s so far delivered. Yet, the 24-year-old has also dealt with rib and knee injuries that have cost him time.
His rushing skills inevitably expose Daniels to hits his 6-foot-4, 210-pound must absorb. It leaves the Commanders needing a competent QB2 who can keep their particular brand of offense on track whenever Daniels isn’t available.
Mariota ticks all of those boxes, having “delivered big time whenever called upon with the Commanders. And he’s a great teammate who brings no drama. A perfect backup quarterback,” according to podcast host Al Galdi.
Replacing Mariota’s value won’t be easy, even though a pending free-agent QB like Trey Lance fits the bill as a ready backup with the multi-faceted skills to bring the Commanders’ Daniels-esque concepts to life. Perhaps even a reunion with Sam Howell, currently warming the bench for NFC East rivals the Philadelphia Eagles, would make sense.
It’s just as likely Peters could find himself having to offer Mariota eight figures to stick around for another year and continue fulfilling an unheralded but vital job description.
