Cowboys Won’t Have to Face Key Broncos Defender After NFL Decision
The white-hot Dallas Cowboys offense will have a huge opportunity to exploit the Denver Broncos on Sunday, particularly since they will not have one of their most important defensive players.
Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw’s one-game suspension was upheld on appeal, meaning he will miss the Dallas game after he chased down official Brad Allen and verbally threatened him after their game against the New York Giants.
Sunday was Greenlaw’s first game in a Broncos uniform after he signed a huge three-year contract with them in March after spending his first six seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. Greenlaw had six tackles and one solo tackle for Denver in its 33-32 win Sunday.
He was forced to miss their first six games after sustaining a quad injury in training camp and was banned for abuse of an official after Wil Lutz’s last-second field goal.
With Dre Greenlaw Out, The Cowboys Could Exploit Denver On The Ground
The Cowboys have not had trouble running the ball against any team, since Javonte Williams ranks second in the NFL in rushing yards (592) — helping them accrue 122.1 yards on the ground per game.
The Broncos have been accustomed to playing without Greenlaw, but the inside linebacker has been one of the game’s premier run stuffers. He has regularly appeared with Pro-Football Focus grades of 80.0-plus, even though he has only played three games over the past two seasons after tearing his Achilles tendon in Super Bowl LVIII.
The Giants gashed Denver through the air with Jaxson Dart’s arm. But despite putting up 119 yards on the ground, New York averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, led by Cam Skattebo’s 60 rushing yards.
The Broncos are averaging 3.8 yards per carry and 93.3 yards-against per game on the ground. Williams has surpassed that mark by himself three times this year, and it’s easy to see him doing so again Sunday.
Dre Greenlaw’s Absence Should Open The Field For Intermediate Passing
With CeeDee Lamb’s return in Week 7, the Cowboys showed how their high-octane offense can work by putting up 409 yards of offense and 44 points.
Granted, the Broncos have arguably the top cornerback in the NFL in Patrick Surtain II, who could keep deep threat George Pickens in check. But the Giants exploited the Broncos in the intermediate-passing game with tight ends Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson each recording long touchdown catches.
The Cowboys, of course, love using tight end Jake Ferguson, since he ranks fifth among NFL tight ends in yards (334) and is tied for second in the NFL with six touchdown catches.
But Lamb could be the beneficiary of an open middle of the field, since he has long been the possession receiver — even though he, of course, has the speed to turn those deep crossing routes into huge plays and even touchdowns.
If, without Greenlaw, the Broncos are unable to slow Dallas’ running attack that could open the door even further for a huge intermediate passing game.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is one of the best at using play-action passing to find the likes of Ferguson and Lamb in stride so they can run after the catch.
Cowboys Trade Proposal Brings $100 Million Ravens All-Pro to Dallas
With the NFL’s trade deadline approaching soon, many fans and analysts alike have their eye on the Dallas Cowboys as a potential buyer.
After getting a haul in return for Micah Parsons, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has gone on record a few times saying more trades — this time to add talent — are possible.
Cowboys Wire’s Angel Torres put together a trade proposal that would give Matt Eberflus’ defense one of the best linebackers in the NFL.
“According to PFF, Dallas doesn’t have a linebacker ranked in the top 50 players at the position and Kenneth Murray is rated dead last in the league. Playing better is a far cry from playing to standard and Dallas could use an infusion of both talent and experience,” Torres wrote on October 21. before pitching his trade target: Baltimore Ravens All-Pro Roquan Smith.
Cowboys Trade Proposal Sends Ravens LB Roquan Smith to Dallas
Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesLB Roquan Smith of the Baltimore Ravens has been named a trade target for the Dallas Cowboys.
“Baltimore seems to be a team realistic with their expectations, and a rough start coupled with a slew of injuries could prompt them to make a move. Ravens linebacker Roquan Smith would be a massive upgrade for a team wanting to, dare I say it, ‘go all in’ to try and win a title,” Torres noted, adding:
“The 28-year-old, three-time All-Pro linebacker has played in just four games this season after injuring his hamstring but recently returned to practice after the Ravens’ bye. Smith has two years remaining on his contract after this season with a $4 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the new league year in both 2026 and 2027, yet he does not have any guaranteed money remaining on his deal after this season.”
Smith has stacked first-team All-Pro nods in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and also knows Eberflus. The veteran LB began the 2022 season under Eberflus in Chicago before the Bears moved him to Baltimore before the trade deadline that year. Their overlap was brief, but it was there.
Torres’ trade proposal would send Smith to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick and a 2027 seventh-rounder.
More on the Idea of Adding Smith
The biggest obstacle is that the Ravens probably won’t want to part with him. They paid a premium to get him and then made him a franchise pillar when they signed him to a five-year, $100 million extension that included $60 million in total guarantees.
That’s big-time money for an off-ball linebacker, but Smith has games where he outright tilts the field. If Dallas believes the window is open enough to justify a splash like this, it’d be a fascinating trade.
Eberflus has always valued pursuit and good ball awareness from the second level, and Smith has checked those boxes in two cities.
Since Smith landed in Baltimore in late 2022, his stat sheet has been boss-level. In his first nine games as a Raven, he racked up 86 total tackles (51 solo, 35 assisted) and 2.0 sacks. The next year in 2023, he started 16 games and finished with 158 total tackles (84 solo, five for loss), 1.5 sacks and an interception.
In 2024, he followed it up with another monster season: 154 tackles (81 solo, four for loss), 1.5 sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. So far in 2025, through four games, he’s added 34 tackles (24 solo, four for loss) and took a fumble 63 yards to the house Week 2 against the Browns.
Look — this is a definite pie-in-the-sky idea. And obviously, if the Ravens’ asking price is astronomical, it’d be a non-starter. But there’s no harm in asking, and there’s no doubt Smith would elevate the entire Dallas defense. It’s highly unlikely, but if the Ravens lose to the Bears Week 8 and fall to 1-6, they may decide to shed some bigger contracts and add draft capital. If that happens, it wouldn’t hurt Jones to put in a call about Smith.
