A few days ago, Maxx Crosby went to the Ravens despite interest from the Dallas Cowboys, leaving them looking at a linebacker in the NFC East. After leaking over 30 points a game in 2025, Jerry Jones needed defensive reinforcements. Now, he is reportedly set to make Dallas a defensive threat once again with a Philadelphia Eagles linebacker on his mind.

“Look for the Cowboys to pursue Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean in free agency. He knows Christian Parker’s scheme @DLLS_Cowboys,” Cowboys writer Clarence Hill Jr posted on X.

Under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker, the Cowboys are expected to go “all-in” during free agency to replenish a unit that struggled to find its identity last year. On Thursday, Cowboys insider Clarence Hill Jr. provided a concrete report connecting the team to the former Georgia standout. 

The Cowboys are attempting to fill a massive hole in the middle of their defense, but the primary risk with Dean is his extensive injury history rather than his on-field ability.

He has struggled to stay healthy throughout his professional career, appearing in just 47 of a possible 68 regular-season games over the past four seasons. His 2025 season was particularly hampered by a knee injury that cost him the first five games and a hamstring issue that sidelined him for the final two weeks of the year.

Despite his injury history, the linebacker’s UFA status means that Jones can acquire him without having to part with any of the franchise’s draft capital. Moreover, the performances speak for themselves.

When healthy, however, Dean has shown flashes of being the linebacker the Cowboys desperately need. Breaking out in 2024, he racked up a career-high 128 total tackles and 3.0 sacks while helping lead the Eagles to a Super Bowl LIX title.

Despite his limited time on the field in 2025, he still managed to record a new career-high of 4.0 sacks in just 10 games, proving his effectiveness as a blitzing threat.

In total, his four-year tenure with the Eagles produced 7.5 sacks and 226 tackles, forcing three fumbles. Adding Dean to organize the middle of the field is exactly the type of move Parker’s multiple 3-4 scheme demands to get the defense back on track.

Well, bringing Dean to the team right now becomes extremely crucial, considering that the team failed to procure a blockbuster trade that involved Maxx Crosby.

Why did the Cowboys fail to procure Maxx Crosby?

The Dallas Cowboys made a strong push to sign the biggest star in free agency this year, but they ultimately lost out to a higher bidder. Although the Las Vegas Raiders tried to keep their five-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, Maxx Crosby, he decided it was time to move on from the only team he had ever played for. While he didn’t make a public scene, he let the Raiders know he would not be returning.

Jerry Jones and the Cowboys were very interested in bringing Crosby back to his home state of Texas to fill a major gap on their defense. However, the Cowboys had a strict spending limit. While they made a serious offer, they weren’t willing to match the massive price tag that the Baltimore Ravens were comfortable paying.

The Baltimore Ravens have assumed the remaining portion of Crosby’s three-year, $106.5 million contract extension. Under this agreement, the Ravens will pay an average of approximately $29 million per season, starting with a $30 million salary for the 2026 league year.

On the other hand, the Cowboys have less than $225,000 in available cap space, which is very little for the NFL. The good news is that they have until Wednesday, the start of the new league year, to fix their finances. They are allowed to “agree to terms” with new players right now at any price, as long as they clear enough space to officially fit those contracts under the limit by Wednesday’s deadline.

Fans should expect the Cowboys to focus on the linebacker position early this week. There are already reports that the team wants to bring in Nakobe Dean. This move makes sense because Dean likely won’t cost as much as other top linebackers, and he already knows the defensive system used by Cowboys assistant Christian Parker from their time together in Philadelphia, where Parker served as the Eagles’ defensive backs coach.

The only problem that remains is the health status of Dean.