Dee Winters\u00a0<\/strong>on Day 3 of the draft. The former sixth-round pick began as a backup for San Francisco before seeing his workload increase over time. Injuries elsewhere in the lineup saw Winters take on a full-time starting role in 2025. He is positioned to operate as a first-team presence with Dallas while playing out the final year of his rookie contract.<\/p>\nDeMarvion Overshown,\u00a0Shemar James\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Justin Barron\u00a0<\/strong>are in place as returnees from last year at the linebacker spot.\u00a0ESPN\u2019s Todd Archer notes\u00a0third-round rookie\u00a0Jaishawn Barham\u00a0<\/strong>will begin his career in the middle as well. That will give head coach\u00a0Brian Schottenheimer<\/strong>\u00a0and new defensive coordinator\u00a0Christian Parker\u00a0<\/strong>plenty of options to work with during OTAs and minicamp. Adding further to that group is something under consideration, though.<\/p>\nCowboys EVP\u00a0Stephen Jones\u00a0<\/strong>indicated (via Archer) the team will continue to seek out a veteran via free agency or another trade. When speaking to the media this weekend, Schottenheimer said (h\/t Jon Machota of The Athletic) Dallas is \u201ccomfortable\u201d at this point with respect to the linebacker position. He nevertheless added the Cowboys are \u201cnever closed for business.\u201d<\/p>\nSchottenheimer also said (via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News) he has a favorite in terms of who would start alongside Winters if the season started today. The second-year head coach did not get into specifics on that front, however. The linebacker spot will no doubt be one to watch closely with or without any other acquisitions being made over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
Dallas currently has roughly $8.2MM in cap space with all but one of the team\u2019s draft picks\u00a0already on the books. Another low-cost linebacker move could be feasible as a result. After the Cowboys ranked 23rd against the run and 32nd in scoring defense in 2025, it would come as no surprise if further work aimed at upgrading at the second level remained a goal through the summer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Linebacker was well known to be an area of need for the Cowboys entering the draft. Dallas addressed other positions on defense during the first round, but… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":45150,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n
\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains "open for business" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains "open for business" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Linebacker was well known to be an area of need for the Cowboys entering the draft. Dallas addressed other positions on defense during the first round, but...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"944\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1146\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"MrTuan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"MrTuan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149\",\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains \\\"open for business\\\" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9dc0774b09b16f117d51cf4d4926f7b8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png\",\"width\":944,\"height\":1146},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains “open for business” as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/\",\"name\":\"Breaking News\",\"description\":\"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9dc0774b09b16f117d51cf4d4926f7b8\",\"name\":\"MrTuan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5bb209608e9e77c92cd1bbdbeb68ac5de1a8a63439d217f4611332753a76a497?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5bb209608e9e77c92cd1bbdbeb68ac5de1a8a63439d217f4611332753a76a497?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"MrTuan\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=6\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains \"open for business\" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains \"open for business\" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News","og_description":"Linebacker was well known to be an area of need for the Cowboys entering the draft. Dallas addressed other positions on defense during the first round, but...","og_url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149","og_site_name":"Breaking News","article_published_time":"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":944,"height":1146,"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"MrTuan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"MrTuan","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149","name":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains \"open for business\" as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47 - Breaking News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png","datePublished":"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-04T00:05:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9dc0774b09b16f117d51cf4d4926f7b8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Anh-dang-bai-1-3.png","width":944,"height":1146},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=45149#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: The Dallas Cowboys have bolstered their linebacker corps by acquiring veteran Dee Winters in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers. While head coach Brian Schottenheimer expresses confidence in the current group, the front office remains “open for business” as they look to turn around a defense that struggled significantly against the run and in scoring categories during the 2025 season.\ud83d\udc47"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/","name":"Breaking News","description":"Explore top US sports stories, and live updates","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9dc0774b09b16f117d51cf4d4926f7b8","name":"MrTuan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5bb209608e9e77c92cd1bbdbeb68ac5de1a8a63439d217f4611332753a76a497?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5bb209608e9e77c92cd1bbdbeb68ac5de1a8a63439d217f4611332753a76a497?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"MrTuan"},"url":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?author=6"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45149"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45149\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45151,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45149\/revisions\/45151"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.profootballrumors.com\/files\/2024\/10\/USATSI_18819681-scaled.jpg\")
<\/a>The Cowboys\u00a0swung a trade with the 49ers\u00a0for\u00a0Dee Winters\u00a0<\/strong>on Day 3 of the draft. The former sixth-round pick began as a backup for San Francisco before seeing his workload increase over time. Injuries elsewhere in the lineup saw Winters take on a full-time starting role in 2025. He is positioned to operate as a first-team presence with Dallas while playing out the final year of his rookie contract.<\/p>\n