Defense was a major concern for the 2025 Dallas Cowboys, as the team ranked last in points allowed and gave up the third-most yards in the league. Things are marginally better this year (25th in points allowed instead of 32nd!), but if this team is going to be a viable contender, it still has things that need fixed all across its defense.
At this point in the season, that probably doesn't mean swinging some kind of huge trade. Instead, it means finding cheap ways to get better at the margins, which is why the Cowboys should be on the phone with the Miami Dolphins about one particular player.
Proposed Cowboys-Dolphins trade for Willie Gay Jr.
This is just one of those trades that makes perfect sense for both teams. The Miami Dolphins are arguably the worst team in the NFL, one of the three remaining winless teams. Willie Gay is on an expiring contract and plays linebacker, which is arguably the only position where Miami can lose a player without it making the team noticeably worse, as linebacker is essentially the only position where the team doesn't have one of the league's worst units. (Not that that even matters, because "getting worse" is a relative term when you're this bad.) It's so obvious that if any team comes to them with any offer for Gay, the Dolphins should just immediately say yes. The only thing that should matter for Miami is getting draft assets for the future, and if you can get what likely amounts to a mid-seventh for Gay, you do it.
As for why the Cowboys would trade for Gay, that's pretty obvious as well. Dallas is in win-now mode as long as it has Dak Prescott at quarterback, so a seventh-round pick doesn't have much value for them. Dallas is currently relying on a young, inconsistent group of backup linebackers, including a pair of 2026 draft picks who just haven't worked out yet.
Is Gay a "good" player at this point? That's debatable, but we do know that he's a decent rotational option in Miami, and his veteran presence could also serve as a boost to the younger players as well. At this point, the Cowboys just need serviceable bodies to throw out on the field, players who can increase the floor of this defense even if they don't really increase the ceiling of it. Gay is a player like that at this point. This trade shouldn't excite Cowboys fans, but there's nothing wrong with making a low-risk, mid-reward move so that you might possible not get killed as much on the defensive side of the football.
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