Cowboys Trade Pitch Adds $36 Million Starter for Draft Pick
The one thing about the struggles of the Cowboys defensively in the first part of this 2025 season has been that, though the unit might not evoke fear around the league at full strength, the fact has been, it’s not been at full strength all year. Whether it’s injuries suffered throughout the season—as in corners Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland, or defensive lineman Kenny Clark—or injuries players had coming into the year, it’s been a banged-up unit.
The hope is that more help is coming back, most significantly, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who has been coming back from a knee injury he suffered last December.
But even Overshown’s return to the middle of the defense might not be enough—it’s still weeks away, and it will take him time to get fully into game shape. The Cowboys need an answer at linebacker, and fast.
As things stand, the team’s primary linebacker, Kenneth Murray, has played 483 snaps, 99% this season, and ranks as the worst linebacker in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, which has him at No. 78 out of 78 graded linebackers.
Cowboys Need Linebacker Help Now
With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Cowboys need to address the situation regardless of Overshown’s progress. At the contract-expert site Spotrac, guru Mike Ginnitti has the Cowboys looking at a swap for one of the most likely available players on the market: Cincinnati’s Logan Wilson.
Said Ginnitti on “The Spotrac Podcast” this week: “The name to watch, I think is Logan Wilson. He is an inside linebacker that seems to be Dallas’s biggest need. I send him to Dallas … I don’t think they’re going send a player back, I think it’s just going to be a later-round pick. So let’s use that 2026 fifth-round pick that they have on the books. Send that to Cincinnati for Logan Wilson.”
Cowboys Open to Trades Before Deadline
The Cowboys have made clear that they’re willing to make moves to improve the team, and with a juggernaut offense on one side, Dallas just needs the defense to be a league-average unit, and it should thrive.
Said coach Brian Schottenheimer this week of the team’s front-office brain trust—owner Jerry Jones, his son Stephen Jones and personnel president Will McClay:
“We’ll always look at everything. You know that. Jerry, Stephen and Will, they’re always open for business. This time of year, you kinda let those guys focus on it because we’re so busy game-planning and all that stuff, but I am very pleased with the way the guys played.”
Logan Wilson Likely to Be Moved at NFL Trade Deadline
As for Wilson, the Cowboys would welcome him and the Bengals are looking to move him on in the coming weeks. He is in the third of a four-year, $36 million contract, but the team has an out on his contract after this season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler wrote this week: “The Bengals are going younger at linebacker, relegating Wilson to a reserve role in favor of rookie Barrett Carter despite Wilson’s status as a team captain. Teams I’ve talked to believe Cincinnati is open to dealing Wilson.”
Wilson is 29, and was a third-round pick of the Bengals in 2020. He has been in Cincinnati his entire career, and with a grade of 58.6, he ranks No. 48 among linebackers at PFF—not a star, but an improvement over Murray.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addresses the Maxx Crosby trade rumors
Las Vegas Raiders edge-rusher Maxx Crosby was linked to the Dallas Cowboys in trade rumors this week, prompting a response from Jerry Jones.
Former ESPN personality Trey Wingo cited sources earlier this week claiming that the Cowboys had reached out to the Raiders about a potential Crosby trade. Jones denied that was the case, and said while he would ideally like to add a defender, it might not even be a pass rusher.
Jerry Jones comments on the rumors
“I would say, without incriminating any area of it, it would be a defensive player. But not a pass-rusher,” Jones told Dianna Russini of The Athletic when asked where Jones would like to add.
The Cowboys pass rush has faced questions since the Micah Parsons trade, but Dallas’ defense as a whole has been poor all season. It would make sense for the Cowboys to ask about Crosby if he were available, but there is no indication that he wants a trade or that the Raiders want to move him.
Despite Jones’ proclamation, there have been other trade rumors linking Dallas to pass-rushers. The owner has publicly maintained that the position is not one of need, but nobody quite believes him. With just 14 sacks through the first seven games, it is easy to see why.
