Jerry Jones dropped a few breadcrumbs Tuesday in Oxnard, and one of them points somewhere a little unexpected: linebacker.
The Cowboys owner said he was on the phone with another team about a “substantive” trade just 24 hours before taking the stage, and after that came his admission that he never lost interest in Maxx Crosby, the speculation machine went into overdrive. Naturally, the conversation has centered on pass rushers. But former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus says the name to keep an eye on might be Jordyn Brooks.
“I think they're going for a bigger fish (than Bobby Wagner),” Broaddus told 105.3 The Fan. “...
I think they've got a linebacker in mind. The team I think you need to focus on is Miami ...
I'm kind of getting whispers from Miami that maybe Miami is realizing that they're not gonna be very good ...”
That’s where Brooks enters the picture. The Dolphins just gave him a three-year, $51.3 million extension with $35 million guaranteed, and on the surface that looks like the kind of move that shuts down trade talk, not invites it. At $17.1 million per year, Brooks is tied for the fifth-highest annual salary among off-ball linebackers, according to Over The Cap.
But the contract is what makes this possible, not impossible.
Brooks has been on Dallas’ radar since earlier this offseason, and while it’s not clear how far any talks with Miami went, the interest was real. His deal is structured in a way that makes the numbers workable for the Cowboys. His base salaries over the next few seasons sit at $1.21 million in 2026, $12.57 million in 2027, $13.82 million in 2028 and $13.25 million in 2029.
That works out to roughly $27 million over three seasons, which is strong value for a player at his position. His biggest cap hit tops out at $19.17 million, and this coming season he would count just $6.16 million against the cap. For Dallas, that’s manageable.
It would also be manageable for Miami, at least from a dead-money standpoint. If the Dolphins moved Brooks, they would only be on the hook for $4.9 million in dead money, which keeps the trade from becoming a financial disaster.
The obvious question is why Miami would extend Brooks only to consider moving him. That’s not the normal play.
Teams usually don’t hand out big extensions with the idea of flipping the player soon after. Still, a fresh extension can raise a player’s trade value because the team getting him isn’t renting a short-term fix - it’s buying years of control.
If the Dolphins decide to listen, the price likely won’t be small. Dallas might have to part with a second- or third-round pick. That’s a steep cost, but for a top-five linebacker, it’s the kind of move that changes the temperature around a defense in a hurry.
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