Jerry Jones is signaling a sharp pivot in Dallas this offseason, and the shift begins on the defensive side of the ball. After a season in which the Cowboys’ pass rush fell from one of the league’s most disruptive units to a middle-tier concern, the front office is evaluating options that would not only stabilize the scheme under new coordinator Christian Parker but also send a message inside the NFC East. While the specifics remain undisclosed, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports that one name on their watch list isn’t just any free agent, but a defensive centerpiece from the rival Philadelphia Eagles.

“Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is someone to watch as a green-dot player in the middle of the defense,” ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on March 1. “The Cowboys will monitor the top of the pass-rush free agent options, too. They aren’t guaranteed to spend big, but I believe they will get a pass rusher at some point.”

Speculation around Dean intensified at the NFL combine, where multiple insiders linked Dallas to the Eagles linebacker, but Fowler’s update stood out because he identified Dean as one of only two specific names tied directly to the Cowboys’ defensive blueprint, especially given the context.

The Cowboys are trying to fill a massive hole. One of their biggest areas of concern is the pass rush. Last season, Dallas ranked 24th in the league with just 35 sacks. And anyone who says losing Micah Parsons had nothing to do with that drop needs to think again.

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In the 2024 season, Dallas finished third in the league with 52 sacks. Parsons accounted for 12 of them, the highest on the team that year. Adding a linebacker like Nakobe Dean to organize the middle of that defense is exactly the kind of move that Parker’s new scheme demands.

Yet notably, Dean is not the only Philadelphia defender Dallas is evaluating. Fowler also mentioned Arizona safety Jalen Thompson as a potential fit, and other reports have linked the Cowboys to help at nickel corner and edge rusher, positions Dallas has openly acknowledged as needs. Still, Dean remains the clearest crossover target.  Parker’s connection to Dean adds another layer to the pursuit.

The Cowboys’ new defensive coordinator worked in Philadelphia in 2024 and 2025, serving as defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach. Dean’s most productive season came during that 2024 campaign, when he posted 128 tackles, nine tackles for loss, six quarterback hits, four pass breakups and an interception across 15 games.

In four seasons with the Eagles, Dean has recorded 7.5 sacks, 226 tackles, 13 QB hits, and 62 quarterback blitzes. But his injuries have been impossible to ignore. Over those four years, he has appeared in just 47 of a possible 68 regular-season games, starting only 27 of them.

He was limited to five games in 2023 due to a Lisfranc injury, and later suffered a torn patellar tendon during the NFC wild-card round in January 2025. Although he returned in October, durability remains a central question as he enters the open market

Also, back in 2024, Dean tore his patellar tendon and missed the final three games, including Philadelphia’s Super Bowl run. That same injury kept him sidelined for a good portion of last season as well, while he worked his way back.

His 2025 season ended with four sacks, 55 tackles, six QB hits, and 15 quarterback blitzes across eight starts. He also forced two fumbles and added seven tackles for loss in 10 total appearances, flashing the downhill burst that made him one of the league’s more effective blitzing linebackers when healthy. But the linebacker can still play at an elite level. In the 2024 season, he posted 128 tackles and 41 quarterback blitzes.

That is exactly what Dallas needs right now, and Jones has made it clear he’s ready to write the check.

Jerry Jones opens his vault for the 2026 offseason

Jones has made one thing pretty clear this offseason: change is coming to Dallas. The owner has talked about being willing to “hitchhike back to Dallas to win a Super Bowl.” So, unlike previous years, when they stayed cautious in free agency, Jones says they will do things differently this time around.​

“I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have,” Jerry Jones said at the combine. “I want you to know that the only way to push more [out] is for me to go borrow some of my future, OK?”

However, no matter how hard Jones wishes to bet big, it will not be so easy. The Cowboys sit dead last in cap space this offseason. They are $56.13 million over the cap, and their effective cap space sits $63.63 million in the red. To land Dean and pay him his market value, Dallas will need to draw a very strategic map and execute a series of contract restructures before free agency even kicks off.

That urgency makes the timeline even more important. Dean is set to become an unrestricted free agent on March 11. His four-year, $5.18 million rookie deal will officially expire when the new league year begins. According to Spotrac, Dean’s projected market value sits at $7.8 million per year, a significant rise from the $1.3 million per year average.

Other projections vary more aggressively. Spotrac estimates a four-year deal worth roughly $31.6 million, while The Athletic’s Daniel Popper projected a figure closer to $40 million over four years, numbers that reflect both Dean’s production ceiling and the risk tied to his injury history.

However, his injury history could bring that number down and leave room for negotiations. The legal tampering period opens on March 9, giving the Cowboys a two-day window to start contract discussions before Dean officially hits the open market.