Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- One NFC East team has emerged as a serious contender for a star linebacker whose contract is expiring this season.
- The deal would address a critical weakness while providing the rebuilding team with valuable draft capital for the future.
- The timing aligns perfectly with Dallas' narrow Super Bowl window and Miami's long-term restructuring plans.
The Miami Dolphins and linebacker Jordyn Brooks are at a crossroads. The star linebacker is entering the final year of his deal and the Dolphins are a team stuck going nowhere, so there seem to be two options here: extend him now, or trade him while they can. There's no reason to let him play on an expiring deal this season.
Miami probably should do the former, but with a new coaching staff in town and the team set for a multi-year rebuild, maybe they decide to deal him instead? If they do, the Dallas Cowboys need to be all over this.
Proposed Cowboys-Dolphins trade for Jordyn Brooks
If Brooks does end up on the trade market, it's possible that the Cowboys would have to add an additional late-round pick to beat out other potential offers, but the team's 2027 second-round pick is a good starting spot that I think gets it done.
The argument for Miami saying yes to this is simple: If the team decides it wants to trade Brooks, its focus should be on adding draft capital to the team's rebuild. While the front office could theoretically convince itself that it doesn't need to tank for draft position because Malik Willis will work out as the starter, that doesn't mean that the rest of the roster is set, and adding draft picks is good for the team's long-term plan. It's smarter than trading Brooks for a player would be.
Like I said, I think the best move is probably to extend Brooks, but this deal is the best alternative to that. Miami gets a Day 2 draft pick that it can use to help build the team in the future.
Why Dallas makes the trade
As for why the Cowboys make this deal, it's pretty obvious as well: Dallas needs to improve its defense, which was the primary driver of the team's 2025 struggles. The Cowboys were seventh in the NFL in scoring offense, but missed the playoffs because they allowed 30.1 points per game — the worst mark in the league.
Moves have been made this offseason to improve the defense, with a ton of new faces all over that side of the ball, from free agents to draft picks to players Dallas traded for. But one spot where the Cowboys haven't made a move is at inside linebacker, where DeMarvion Overshown looks set to start again.
Overshown missed much of last season with a torn ACL. but he played fairly well once he returned. The thing is, though, that I wouldn't say that Overshown was good enough to convince the Cowboys that he has to be the Week 1 starter there. If there's a chance to improve (say, by adding a 2025 All-Pro to the roster), then the Cowboys should be all over that — and if it requires dealing away a second-round pick, then that's what you have to do. This team's Super Bowl window is only open as long as Dak Prescott maintains his current level of play, and that could end at any point. It's time for Dallas to make moves to put the team as close as it can for its first ring since the Aikman days.
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