{"id":825442,"date":"2026-03-21T16:55:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/825442\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:55:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:55:21","slug":"cowboys-could-sign-rivals-team-captain-to-help-ailing-defense","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/825442\/","title":{"rendered":"Cowboys Could Sign Rival’s Team Captain to Help Ailing Defense"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dallas Cowboys are still searching for defensive reinforcements this offseason, and one of the positions that could use the most tender love and care is the linebacker \u00a0spot.<\/p>\n

In a recent article by Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport, he picks what he believes is the best team fit for some of the best free agents that have not yet signed with a team. For Dallas, he thinks the player they could be a bit for is former New York Giant Bobby Okereke.<\/p>\n

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“It was no secret entering free agency that the Dallas Cowboys needed to strengthen the linebacker room. Youngster DeMarvion Overshown has had problems staying on the field, and while Shemar James showed flashes in 2025 he’s by no means a sure thing,” Davenport writes<\/a>. “If the Cowboys are going to get back to the postseason, the team needs a steadying hand at just about every level of the defense. Okereke would provide one.”<\/p>\n

Okereke has spent the past three seasons with the\u00a0New York Giants has been one of the most productive defenders on their roster.<\/p>\n

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Last season alone, he recorded 143 total tackles along with six pass breakups and two interceptions. He has surpassed 90 tackles in each of the past five seasons, and in four of them he has had over 130.<\/p>\n

And that one season he finished with 93 because he played in just 12 games.<\/p>\n

That type of reliability is exactly what Dallas could use. While the Cowboys have star talent across their defense, adding a veteran linebacker capable of commanding the middle of the field would help stabilize the unit.<\/p>\n

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Another factor that makes this potential pairing intriguing is familiarity within the division. Having spent years with the Giants, Okereke is already well-acquainted with NFC East opponents\u2014including Dallas. That experience could allow him to transition smoothly into the Cowboys\u2019 defensive system while bringing valuable insight about divisional rivals.<\/p>\n

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For Dallas, the goal remains clear: build a defense capable of supporting a playoff push. Adding a linebacker with Okereke\u2019s leadership, production, and experience would help move the Cowboys closer to that objective.<\/p>\n

If we know Jerry Jones well at all, it’s that he will do what he thinks is necessary to help the team win right away. And at the moment, signing a linebacker like Okereke could definitely be something to consider.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Dallas Cowboys are still searching for defensive reinforcements this offseason, and one of the positions that could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":825443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[8226,8347,230,229,257,2461,9117,7,12963,56,6,2008,1119],"class_list":["post-825442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas-cowboys","tag-bleacher-report","tag-bobby-okereke","tag-cowboys","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-dallascowboys","tag-demarvion-overshown","tag-football","tag-gary-davenport","tag-new-york-giants","tag-nfl","tag-shemar-james","tag-the-cowboys"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116268221282332935","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=825442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/825442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/825443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=825442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=825442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=825442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}