Cowboys news: Dee Winters acquisition could have huge payoff

Jun 16, 2026; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dee Winters (53) goes through a drill during practice at the Ford Center at the Star Training Facility in Frisco, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images | Chris Jones-Imagn ImagesRole Call: Dee Winters can elevate Cowboys' LB room - Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com

Without a deep draft class at linebacker, it was difficult to see how the Cowboys could land a major upgrade at the position in April, but trading for Dee Winters on day two was nice work.

Winters had spent the last three season with the 49ers after they drafted him in the sixth-round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of TCU. In his final season of college football with the Horned Frogs, Winters was a key part of TCU's 2022 defense that helped them reach the CFP national championship game. The game before in the CFP semifinal against Michigan, Winters was named the MVP of the game after posting seven tackles, three tackles for loss and returned a 29-yard interception to give TCU a 34-16 lead late in the third quarter.

What's Next?Where does Winters fit in Christian Parker's scheme? The easy answer appears to be as a weakside linebacker, where he's played his entire career. Winters' best traits are his speed and ability to cover ground sideline to sideline, which could work very well if he plays alongside DeMarvion Overshown, who is aiming to be Dallas' MIKE linebacker this season. Should the two be on the field at the same time and healthy, speed will certainly be a strong suit of Dallas' linebacker core.

Did you Know...

While Winters may get some work in practice wearing the green dot, he admitted he has never played a game with it on during his career. Winters added that he'd be willing to do it if the Cowboys asked him to, and Christian Parker has said the Cowboys will try different options at the position and make sure multiple players are prepared if need be.

Winters played in and started in a career-high 17 games for San Francisco in 2025, and more than doubled his career-best tackle total to finish with 101 total tackles, which led the team. With that, he added eight tackles for loss, five pass breakups, three hits on the quarterback and a 74-yard pick six against the Colts.

8 Under-the-Radar NFL Players Set for Major Roles in 2026 - Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report

More on Winters as the potential green dot answer for the Cowboys new defense under Christian Parker.

LB Dee Winters, Dallas Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys had one of the NFL's worst defenses in 2025, and the team took a buzzsaw to the unit in the offseason.

There are new edge-rushers in veteran Rashan Gary and rookie Malachi Lawrence, Two new starting safeties in Jalen Thompson and first-round rookie Caleb Downs. And a potential new green dot" linebacker in Dee Winters.

Winters, who made a career-high 101 tackles last year filling in for an injured Fred Warner in San Francisco, came to Dallas in a draft day trade.

The 25-year-oldtold reportersthat last year's experience as a starter was invaluable, and he looks forward to seeing what Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker has in store for him in 2026:

I think just the attention to detail last year, and just kind of understanding what offenses like to do. I feel like I started to pick up on it more as I got reps. Just that experience each and every game getting better and trying to use that motto, I think that really helped me have a decent year last year. He wants to get me in space. He feels like one of my assets is me being in space and being able to make tackles in space. Just run and hit with my physicality and speed that I bring to the game. Him and I both are excited to see what that looks like and go from there."

Winters isn't an elite talent, but he was a steady producer for the 49ers last year. He also provides some badly needed stability for a Cowboys linebacker corps that was something of a carousel last year.

Cowboys to report to training camp July 28; joint practice dates also set - Todd Brock, The Cowboys Wire

Joint practices against the Rams and Saints will be great opportunities to evaluate the roster battles for the Cowboys. Training camp starts on July 28th.

The exact itinerary of this year's West Coast stay has yet to be made public, but details have been firmed up regarding the summer's two joint practices. The Cowboys will head to L.A. on Aug. 11 to hold a work session with theRams; that meeting will come in advance of the two teams meeting again at SoFi Stadium during Week 15 of the regular season.

TheSaintswill then visit Oxnard to practice with the Cowboys on Aug. 18. That joint workout will mark the return of New Orleans head coach Kellen Moore back to Oxnard, a familiar location to him dating back to his time with the Cowboys as both a coach and player.

The Cowboys are expected to announce details of their entire Oxnard stay, including a list of which practices will be open to the public, later in the week.

Life after Cowboys minicamp, the biggest takeaways - Shane Taylor, Inside The Star

The Cowboys will need some new wrinkles to an offense without a lot of new names, and RB2 behind Javonte Williams is a good place to look.

Running Backs

Another big thing that stood out to me is I don't think the Cowboys have any idea who the backup running back behind Javonte Williams is going to be.

As we sit, I think Malik Davis has the upper hand, but when I saw media coverage of minicamp last week, both Blue and Mafah were getting reps, and they also worked out Zamir White.

They clearly want to keep guys in that locker room and even maybe look at adding a body or two to help compete with them.

Dallas right now is saying that Jaydon Blue will be used more and should bring a spark to the offense, but until we see that actually happen, I am not sure, I will buy that.

I like what I am seeing from all these guys, but I don't trust anyone just yet to take the lead in the backup running back role behind Williams. If he goes down, the coaching staff is going to need to trust one of these guys.

No more of this running back by committee thing, it just does not work.

Cowboys' biggest X-Factor may be who fans least expect - Maitland Rutledge, The Landry Hat

Donovan Ezeiruaku was a source of optimism on a defense that had so few in 2025, and he'll carry high expectations into 2026.

For Ezeiruaku, a breakout season could go a long way towards proving he can be the next great Cowboys' pass rusher.

Donovan Ezeiruaku could end up being a Dallas Cowboys standout in 2026

When the team traded away Micah Parsons before the 2025 season, a lot of attention turned to Ezeiruaku as his replacement. While Ezeiruaku was regarded as one of the best rushers in the 2025 draft, his rookie season did not stand out much. It is hard to replace a player of Parsons' caliber, but Ezeiruaku's talent shined at times during last season.

Ezeiruaku started in nine games during his rookie season. He only came away with two sacks, but overall, the defense struggled to get to the quarterback all season.

On top of rookie season struggles, Ezeiruaku also had hip labrum surgery this offseason. With the team not retaining their sacks leader, Jadeveon Clowney, the assumption is that Dallas is not going to keep Ezeiriku in the background anymore.

The Cowboys did bring in reinforcements this offseason. They traded for Rashan Gary and drafted Malachi Lawrence. However, Ezeiruaku's ceiling might be higher than both of those players. In his final year at Boston College, his sack numbers jumped astronomically from just two in his junior year to a whopping 16.5 as a senior. With a leap in production like that in college, there is good reason to believe his production can increase heavily in his sophomore NFL season.

Daily discussion question: What is the weirdest Dallas Cowboys jersey you have ever owned?