The Dallas Cowboys have already spent plenty of time reshaping their defense this offseason, but the biggest question hasn’t gone away: do they actually have enough certainty on that side of the ball?
That’s the issue hanging over the edge rush and linebacker spots in particular. Dallas has made a lot of changes, but there’s still real uncertainty about how everything will come together, and some of the players the Cowboys are counting on most aren’t exactly locks to deliver.
That’s why a few big trade ideas are worth keeping on the radar before Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
One name that keeps surfacing is Maxx Crosby. The assumption has been that he’ll remain in Las Vegas after the failed trade to the Baltimore Ravens, especially after he made it clear he wanted to stay with the Raiders. But former Raiders beat writer and The California Post’s Vincent Bonsignore doesn’t see it that way.
“(A Crosby trade) is not some unrealistic pipe dream, either,” he said. “The same reasons that the Raiders traded Crosby to the Ravens in March are still in place.”
Crosby’s knee is the one concern right now after offseason surgery, but he sounded upbeat this week. At the Sack Summit, he told reporters he’s feeling “amazing.”
For Dallas, the fit is obvious. The Cowboys already have a crowded edge-rusher group, but they don’t have a true game-wrecker who can tilt the pass rush and lift the whole defense. Crosby would do that immediately, and he’d also bring a strong presence to the locker room.
Linebacker is another spot where the Cowboys are still searching for a real answer. Right now, Dallas is projected to start Dee Winters and DeMarvion Overshown, with Shemar James and Jaishawn Barham battling for LB3.
That’s a shaky setup. Winters is solid, but not special.
Overshown has had trouble staying healthy. And James and Barham are still unproven.
That’s where Brooks comes in. At 29, he’s coming off an All-Pro season in 2025 and has grown into one of the better linebackers in football. He would be a major boost for Dallas against the run and would add speed to the defense, too.
From Miami’s side, the logic is pretty straightforward: sell high on a player who could be on the downslope by the time the Dolphins finish their rebuild.
Then there’s Sweat, another edge rusher the Cowboys should be watching closely. The veteran had 12 sacks last season, has made a Pro Bowl, and is reportedly unhappy in Arizona.
The Cardinals would have every reason to listen. They could use more draft capital as they continue rebuilding, and keeping a 29-year-old veteran around for several more years before the team is truly ready to compete wouldn’t make much sense.
Sweat’s résumé speaks for itself. He has two double-digit sack seasons, three years with at least eight sacks over the last four, and plenty of playoff experience, including a Super Bowl ring.
Outside of Crosby, Sweat looks like the best realistic edge-rush option for Dallas if the Cowboys want to strengthen that room before the season starts.
In Other News...
Cowboys Quietly Found The Veteran Caleb Downs Needed Most
For a rookie safety trying to get his footing in the NFL, the Cowboys have found a useful voice in the meeting room and on the practice field. Caleb Downs has been leaning on veteran help as he adjusts to the speed of the league and to Christian Parkers defensive scheme, and the extra work after practice has given him a chance to slow things down and sort out the details that can get lost in a hurry once the pads come on.
The value goes beyond simple repetition. The veteran guiding Downs already understands Parkers system and brings the kind of versatility Dallas wants in the secondary, which makes the teaching more practical than theoretical. For a defense still trying to define its leadership, that kind of steady presence matters, even if the bigger test for Downs is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Faces Another Massive Cowboys Decision On Quinnen Williams
Quinnen Williams is only getting started in his first full season with the Cowboys, but his place in Dallas already looks like one of the more important long-term questions on the roster. The defensive tackle arrived with the kind of impact pedigree that makes front offices think ahead, and the Cowboys have never been shy about extending key players early when it helps them manage cap flexibility and avoid a pricier problem later.
Jerry Jones may be looking at that same playbook again, because Williams value at his position keeps climbing and the market for interior defenders is only getting tougher to navigate. Dallas can wait and see how the season unfolds, but there is a real incentive to get ahead of the next wave of defensive tackle deals before Williams price tag rises even more. [Read more 🡒]
Traeshon Holden Is Forcing His Way Into A Cowboys Camp Battle
Traeshon Holden entered last years Cowboys camp as a name to watch, and he has kept himself in the conversation heading into this summer. The second-year receiver reportedly sat higher on the depth chart during minicamp than many around the team expected, a sign that his strong moments from a year ago have carried over enough to matter in a crowded receiver room.
Holden still has work to do before he can turn that momentum into a roster spot. Dallas wants more from him as a blocker and on special teams, the same areas that kept him from carving out a clearer role last season, but the path looks more open now with some moving parts in the receiver group. If he keeps building on what he showed in camp, he could make the final decision a lot harder than it looked a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]