Jerry Jones Cowboys trade linebacker
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed the team's inability to land a linebacker in a trade this NFL offseason.
Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are waiting for the team to make a big acquisition at linebacker. The Cowboys have yet to add to the group, which was one of the worst in the league last season.
But that’s not due to a lack of trying. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones explained to ESPN’s Todd Archer on Tuesday the team is strongly pursuing linebackers on the trade market.
Jones also insisted that they will continue to pursue their options.
“We want to get better there with personnel,” Jones said. “We’ve been trying very much to make some trades. They haven’t worked out for us there.
“But that won’t deter us from getting better there.”
Todd Archer
Jerry Jones said the Cowboys have not been successful yet with their trade attempts for a LB. “We want to get better there with personnel. We’ve been trying very much to make some trades. They haven’t worked out for us there. But that won’t deter us from getting better there.”
Early in the offseason, Cowboys insiders reported Patrick Queen was one of the team’s targets at linebacker. Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay argued Tuesday that Queen could be available for a draft day trade.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris said during the final full week of March the Cowboys weren’t pursuing Queen any longer. But Harris added that Miami Dolphins‘ Jordyn Brooks and Houston Texans’ Azeez Al-Shaair were options.
Cowboys Still Pursuing LB Trade
With his Tuesday remarks, Jones essentially confirmed his team is still shopping for a linebacker.
Interestingly, Harris reported on March 13 that a Queen trade for the Steelers “seems imminent.” Queen, though, remains with the Steelers, and team insiders have reported Pittsburgh doesn’t have any interest in trading him.
Regarding Brooks and Al-Shaair, Harris received major pushback for suggesting them as Cowboys trade targets. That pushback appears to have come from fans and not the Dolphins or Texans.
Still, the targets the Cowboys are pursuing at linebacker don’t actually appear to be available. That could be why the team has failed to land a linebacker in the trade market.
It’s possible the Cowboys could have pursued other trade options not yet reported. Executive vice president Stephen Jones suggested that as a strong possibility in front of reporters Monday.
“The make-up of our football team is constantly evolving. We look at a lot of different situations,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “We look at some that never hit the media, if you will. Then some, people get their hands on information, and you are aware of situations that we’ve pursued.
“But we’re always looking to make our football team better. If we can find that situation, then we’ll do it.”
Free Agent Linebacker Options for Cowboys
If the Cowboys aren’t able to land an inside linebacker in a trade, then free agency is still an option.
Veterans such as Bobby Wagner and Bobby Okereke remain available.
Last week, Harris said Wagner “would be fine as a one-year rental” but encouraged the Cowboys to seek long-term solutions at linebacker.
Heavy Sports’s Sean Deveney, though, argued the Cowboys could use two new linebackers. Therefore, it would make sense for Dallas to sign Wagner and then return to trying to trade for a long-term solution.
The Cowboys could also ink Wagner to a deal and then draft a linebacker in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Jones’s roster in Dallas surely needs help at linebacker after the team finished 30th in yards allowed and last in scoring defense during 2025.
At Pro Football Focus, five of the six linebackers who played for the Cowboys last season scored overall grades below average. Three of them were well below average.