Heading into Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, for the 2026 NFL season, Dee Winters looked like the one inside linebacker Dallas could count on.
A month later, he’s somehow slipped into the background.
That’s what happens when a third-round rookie like Jaishawn Barham starts cooking in camp and then follows it up with a dynamic debut last Saturday night against the Arizona Cardinals. Add in the long-running hope around DeMarvion Overshown, and suddenly the conversation around Dallas’ linebacker room has moved away from Winters almost entirely.
And that’s a little unfair, because Winters still looks like a starter when the dust settles after final cuts. Barham is absolutely pushing for a role, and Christian Parker’s defense figures to keep this group moving and mixing, but Winters has spent most of the summer being treated like the forgotten piece.
Since late April, Winters has been penciled in as one of the starting inside linebackers. It has basically been Winters and Overshown from the start, with the only real question mark attached to Overshown’s health. Whether it’s in the base 3-4 or in nickel looks, that pairing has been viewed as Dallas’ first group.
There was still plenty of offseason chatter about Bobby Wagner or another veteran free agent stepping in to reinforce the room, but that talk has cooled off. Barham’s rise has changed the tone around the position fast.
Now the rookie is the one getting labeled as Dallas’ best MIKE option, with Overshown sliding into the more versatile WILL role. If that happens, Winters would move into a backup spot.
Even then, it’s not a throwaway role. Winters would still be heavily involved whenever Dallas uses a third linebacker.
He’d be the next man in when the defense needs a breather. And if someone ends up in the medical tent, he’s the obvious replacement.
Still, the perception shift has been dramatic. In a month, the Cowboys have gone from treating Winters like the only guaranteed starter in the group to wondering if he’s a reserve. Outside of a couple of Cardinals, he’s been the one most affected by the Barham buzz.
His arrival in Dallas was never exactly a loud one, either.
The Cowboys sent a fifth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers in the middle of last April’s draft, and the move came early Friday night. Dallas had already put together a strong first round by landing safety Caleb Downs and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence, but the inside linebacker spot was still wide open and the team didn’t have a second-round pick. Winters was brought in to stabilize that hole.
At the time, it was a meaningful addition: a four-year veteran with 27 career starts, many of them alongside Fred Warner, who’s viewed as a Hall of Fame candidate. Winters wasn’t supposed to solve everything, but he was a legitimate upgrade after the rough showings Dallas got from Jack Sanborn, Kenneth Murray and others under Matt Eberflus.
The trade, though, got buried fast between the Caleb Downs celebration, the rest of the draft, and the arrival of Barham in the third round. By the time the dust settled, the focus had shifted to the rest of the class, the UDFAs and the usual offseason churn. Winters never really got the spotlight.
Four months later, he’s back in the shadows again, this time because fans haven’t seen much of him. Dallas has been giving him starter treatment in preseason action, and that should continue Friday against the New Orleans Saints. Barham, meanwhile, is expected to get at least a solid snap share in the finale.
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