Dallas retools its defense, snagging a key safety and eyeing a Pro Bowl linebacker as free agency heats up. Will Queen join the fray?
FRISCO - It is no secret that the Dallas Cowboys are defense-hunting this offseason, thanks in part to having traded away Micah Parsons last fall.
Now, in a sense, the Cowboys are strategically trying to rectify that move.
At EDGE?
They were in on Maxx Crosby until they weren't. He's been traded from the Raiders to the Ravens.
The other big fish is Cincinnati Bengals star Trey Hendrickson.
Yes, he's a little older and will be pricey (at least $25 million APY according to some reports), but the pedigree is there.
Trey's a sack-monster, totaling 17.5 in back-to-back seasons before injury derailed his 2025 season.
But the Cowboys locked into a trade at EDGE, getting Green Bay's Rashan Gary.
How about in the secondary? Lots of good names, but Dallas got its guy in Arizona safety Jalen Thompson. (There are still some cornerbacks available as well.)
OK, and at linebacker?
The Cowboys on Monday's Day 1 of this process sort of whiffed.
They took shots at Green Bay's Quay Walker and Philly's Nakobe Dean; both signed with the Raiders. They visited with Jaguars star Devin Lloyd; he jumped to Carolina.
And suddenly, the cupboard as we enter Tuesday's Day 2 is getting rather bare.
Can the Cowboys look to add a linebacker via a trade?
Absolutely possible, with Pittsburgh's Patrick Queen on the known wish list (and with us wondering if Fred Warner could be plucked from the Niners).
Per NFL Network's Jane Slater on the subject of a Queen trade: Dallas is "looking at it.''
Queen is just 26 years old and is a two-time Pro Bowler who has started all 101 of his 101 career games. He's entering the final season of a three-year, $41 million contract as we assume this would be a trade-dump ... with Dallas giving up a Day 3 pick.
Other possible names include the the Commanders' Bobby Wagner, Giants' Bobby Okereke, the Chiefs' Leo Chanal and the Falcons' Kaden Elliss.
Jerry Jones' "bust the budget" quote is still relevant here; Cowboys Nation would like for him to do it one more time for new coordinator Christian Parker.
Are the Cowboys done shopping? Surely not.
Do they need a linebacker? They surely do.