As Miami enters a total rebuild, the Dallas native could be the missing piece for a struggling Cowboys defense desperate for an elite, All-Pro presence inside.
FRISCO - "Inevitable'' might be too strong a word in predicting that the Dallas Cowboys - trying to build their defense in a way that allows for a bounce-back season in 2026 - will make a trade for Miami Dolphins star linebacker Jordyn Brooks.
But I can see how the puzzle pieces all fit. And a Florida-based writer is joining me in pushing the idea of the All-Pro Brooks landing in Dallas ...
Eventually.
My position is clear: The Cowboys get credit for admitting that last year's 32nd-ranked defense needs help, and that there's been a major void at inside linebacker.
So they acquired Dee Winters via trade from the San Francisco 49ers to serve as the other starting linebacker next to DeMarvion Overshown. And they used a third-round pick on the promising Jaishawn Barham from Michigan.
Before making those moves, though, Dallas did call Miami about Brooks. And with all due respect to Winters, Dallas should make another call.
Brooks experienced a breakout season with the Dolphins in 2025, posting a league-high 183 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 13 tackles for loss. The 28-year-old is a Dallas native who grew up in Houston and then played at Texas Tech before moving to the NFL as a first-round pick in 2020.
Even during Miami's awful 2025 campaign, Brooks was good enough to earn a first-team All-Pro berth.
He is a far superior answer to the problem than Winters is.
How does this work from a Miami perspective?
He is entering the final year of a three-year, $26 million contract he signed with Miami in 2024 ... but now the Dolphins are stripping down and rebuilding.
They've said goodbye to the likes of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Bradley Chubb.
Maybe it happens sooner rather than later ... or maybe we need to get into the 2026 season a bit to make sure the Dolphins are bad enough to continue the strip-down ... and to make sure the Cowboys are good enough to bother paying for the addition.
Enter Florida-based FOX Sports insider Greg Auman, who predicts that Brooks is Dallas-bound - eventually.
"If it doesn't happen before the season, it feels inevitable he lands with a contender at the trade deadline,'' Auman writes, adding, "the Cowboys need all the defensive upgrades they can get after last season."
"Inevitable''? Again, a strong word. We don't know what the trade cost might be (a Day 2 pick in 2027) and we don't know how willing the Cowboys are to sign Brooks to a new contract extension, which I say is one of the puzzle pieces that must fit.
But the Dolphins have little need for him. And the Cowboys' need lingers. It's a sensible move ... "inarguably,'' if not "inevitably.''
