PHOENIX — A variety of topics were discussed in two days of conversations between Cowboys officials and the media at the NFL owners meetings, but a major priority was revealed: The team has a need for an inside linebacker.
We’ve also discovered another need: finding a pass rusher.
The Cowboys don’t have a void at pass rusher, they just need another one.
And it’s not about replacing Micah Parsons this offseason, because talking about him is pointless at this stage.
Cowboys
When it comes to finding another pass rusher, here’s where the Cowboys stand: The team traded for defensive end Rashan Gary, moved defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku to outside linebacker and re-signed former second-round pick Sam Williams. He’ll move from defensive end to outside linebacker.
The Cowboys seek bigger defensive ends and faster outside linebackers. Williams and Ezeiruaku are too small to play end in defensive coordinator Christian Parker’s 3-4 scheme. Yet, they are quick enough to possibly cause havoc rushing from a two-point stance.
Gary is the big defensive end the Cowboys want to pair with a defensive line of Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark. Of course, the Cowboys will play some four man fronts, which also explains why the team is looking for a nickel corner.
But getting another defensive end to cause pressure is something on team owner Jerry Jones’ mind.
“We’ve got to get it from some [players] that we didn’t [get it from] last year,” Jones said Tuesday about generating quarterback pressure. He later added, “the idea that that’s not a premium place to be, especially for the draft, then it would be one of our top areas of interest: the pressure.”
Before the Gary trade, the Cowboys couldn’t complete a trade with Las Vegas for Maxx Crosby. He was instead traded to Baltimore, but that move was rescinded due to a failed physical because of his knee.
Jones wouldn’t rule out another attempt at Crosby now that the trade compensation has gone down. Maybe just one first-round pick will get it done, as opposed to a first-rounder and a future second-rounder, which was what the Cowboys offered this spring.
“I don’t anticipate, standing here right now, revisiting that situation,” Jones said of Crosby. “I don’t anticipate it. Is it possible? Yes.”
The Cowboys didn’t have much interest in signing free agent Trey Hendrickson, who signed a four-year, $112 million deal with Baltimore as a replacement when the Crosby deal fell apart.
It now leaves the Cowboys looking at the draft to get a defensive end or they could quite possibly re-sign Jadeveon Clowney.
Clowney led the Cowboys with 8 1/2 sacks last season after signing nearly two weeks into the 2025 season. Before Super Bowl LX, Jones said the Cowboys wanted to retain Clowney’s services. After further conversations with the coaching staff it seems Clowney isn’t someone the team wants to bring back.
Clowney went on social media to contend he can play in a 3-4 or 4-3 scheme.
When Jones was informed of this, the team owner agreed with the man he used to employ.
“I think Clowney is more right than I am there,” he said. “It’s real hard when you look at how Clowney came on last year in the snaps he gave us. It’s real hard not to have a place there for Clowney. But you can’t have it all. You just can’t have it all. If things go right for us, we’ve already made a signing, we’ve made trades, we think that’s the better way to go and of course we got the draft. It can very easily answer some of that question.”
The Cowboys have the No. 12 and No. 20 picks in the first round and the unpredictability of the draft could push this team in a number of directions.
Yes, an inside linebacker is sought. Maybe drafting another cornerback, at least a corner that’s healthy.
But the team knows the more pass rushers you have, the better things are for your team.
“I think right now, I feel really, really good at all positions,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “But there’s some spots we like to fill and maybe a starter or two on defense that we’re still looking for.”
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.