Certain positions demand a degree of readiness when veteran additions are made; running back is generally considered plug-and-play from team to team. Cornerback is usually thought of as a smooth veteran transition, and linebacker is widely regarded as a spot where a veteran can hit the ground running somewhere new. Yet in 2025, the Dallas Cowboys struggled mightily in getting their veteran linebackers to do anything right.
The Cowboys welcomed three veteran linebackers to the mix last season: Kenneth Murray, Jack Sanborn and Logan Wilson. All three were swings and misses. Sanborn and Wilson looked like they were running in mud in 2025 and struggled to even stay on the field. Murray moved well but to all the wrong places (see also: PFF grade that ranked him 86 of 88).
The Cowboys spent $7.5 million on Murray, $1.2 million on Sanborn and $2.9 million for Wilson, totaling $10.6 million on veterans from the outside who offered little actual benefit.
The Cowboys have flushed the deck in 2026 and are taking a stab at a new veteran addition, Dee Winters. The 25-year-old product of TCU comes to Dallas after a draft weekend trade with the 49ers. He has a track record of success, playing good football on a good defense in San Francisco. On paper, Winters looks like the base hit the Cowboys need and not the strikeout that happened a year before. It’s here where Winters separates himself from the others.
The primary criticism with Sanborn and Wilson from last year is that they looked a step too slow. They might have known what to do in the mind but the body wasn’t cooperating anymore. An honest look back before they came to Dallas showed signs of this physical decline as well. Sanborn slipped to just a three-game starter his last year in Chicago, logging more special teams snaps than defensive snaps. Similarly, Wilson showed signs of decline as well. The 29-year-old was seeing a decline in snaps while simultaneously playing on a poor defense. Again, the signs were there.
Murray was nothing but a gamble on traits. The former first-round pick came with draft pedigree and A+ athleticism, yet never seemed to put things together as a defender. The Cowboys hoped things would suddenly click in Dallas but things just never did. In all three cases the Cowboys had what some may consider “unrealistic expectations” for their veteran linebackers.
The main thing holding Winters back is his size. At 5-foot-11, 227-pounds, Winters is undersized at the linebacker position and, as evidenced by various scrapes and bruises in 2025, felt the pain of that disadvantage in San Francisco. But Winters showed he knows how to play the position at a high level and he also showed he has the speed and athleticism to get it done. None of the three from last year possessed both elements.
It’s important to point out, Winters was acquired for just a fifth-round pick. It’s safe to say he’s not the solution to all of the Cowboys’ problems in 2026, but he’s a proven achiever playing in the prime of his career for $3.7 million in 2026. He’s a motivated soon-to-be free agent playing under the guidance of a well-respected coaching staff and in a competitive position group.
There’s a reason to be optimistic this time.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Can this $3.7M Cowboys addition do what 3 vets couldn’t do for $10.6M?
Reporting by Reid D Hanson, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
