The Dallas Cowboys’ defense under Matt Eberflus has fallen apart. One trade scenario—sending Terence Steele, Brock Hoffman, and a 2026 first-round pick to the Titans for Jeffery Simmons and Cedric Gray could reshape Dallas’ defense.
A Bold Trade Scenario That Could Fix the Cowboys’ Defensive Crisis
The Dallas Cowboys’ defense under coordinator Matt Eberflus has been one of the NFL’s biggest disappointments.
Once expected to be a disciplined, gap-sound, and opportunistic unit, the group has instead collapsed, ranking near the bottom in sacks, run defense, and third-down stops.
To change that trajectory, imagine this blockbuster trade proposal:
The Cowboys send right tackle Terence Steele, center Brock Hoffman, and the Green Bay Packers’ 2026 first-round pick (acquired in the Micah Parsons trade) to the Tennessee Titans.
The Cowboys receive All-Pro defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and second-year linebacker Cedric Gray, a 2024 fourth-round pick out of North Carolina.
It’s not official—but it’s the kind of bold move Jerry Jones could make to save a defense that’s spiraling under Eberflus.
Why the Cowboys Would Make This Move
Matt Eberflus’ defensive system is built on discipline, gap control, and speed at the second level—three traits the Cowboys have completely lacked this season.
Opposing offenses have run through them, averaging over 4.7 yards per carry, while the interior line has failed to generate consistent pressure.
That’s where Jeffery Simmons comes in. The two-time Pro Bowler is one of the most complete defensive tackles in football, combining brute strength with technique and motor.
He’s averaged eight sacks and 50 pressures per year, production that would instantly change how teams block Dallas’ front four.
Cedric Gray, the Titans’ second-year linebacker and 2024 fourth-round pick, brings speed and instincts to a unit that’s been slow to react. His ability to play in space and cover running backs fits perfectly into Eberflus’ hybrid zone-coverage scheme.
With DeMarvion Overshown returning from injury, Dallas could finally roll out a young, fast linebacker core featuring Gray, Overshown, Shemar James, and Marist Liufau—a group that fits the modern NFL’s speed demands.
Financially, the deal works, too. Brock Hoffman is in the final year of his contract, and Terence Steele’s cap hit is climbing after an inconsistent season.
Trading both would open cap flexibility while paving the way for Nate Thomas to step in at right tackle after showing starting-level flashes earlier this year.
Why the Titans Might Consider It
The Titans, now focused on developing rookie quarterback Cam Ward, are clearly in a rebuilding phase.
Terence Steele gives Tennessee a proven right tackle to protect Ward, and Brock Hoffman adds depth across the offensive interior. Hoffman’s expiring contract also provides flexibility—either as a short-term starter or cap-free exit after the season.
Most importantly, the 2026 first-round pick from Green Bay provides long-term value. It could help general manager Mike Borgonzi secure a key building block or package it to move up in a future draft.
With Jeffery Simmons’ massive contract on the books and Tennessee’s focus shifting to younger talent, a trade like this could serve as a smart reset for the franchise.
How It Could Reshape the Cowboys
If this trade materialized, Matt Eberflus would finally have the personnel to execute his defensive philosophy.
A front anchored by Jeffery Simmons and Osa Odighizuwa, flanked by James Houston and rookie Donovan Ezuiruika, would restore Dallas’ interior dominance.
Behind them, a linebacker group featuring Cedric Gray, DeMarvion Overshown, and Shemar James would give the Cowboys the closing speed and range their system requires.
The domino effect could be dramatic—better gap control, more consistent pressure, and an energized, fast-flowing unit that finally looks like an Eberflus defense.
What This Move Would Signal for Dallas
This bold trade scenario highlights a simple truth: the Cowboys’ defense is broken, and conservative fixes won’t cut it.
Acquiring Jeffery Simmons would give Dallas the elite interior presence it’s been missing for years.
Cedric Gray and DeMarvion Overshown would form a young, explosive linebacker core built to last. And with Nate Thomas ready to take over at right tackle and Brock Hoffman’s deal expiring, the financial impact is manageable.
It’s daring, costly, and unlikely—but if Jerry Jones truly wants to give Matt Eberflus a chance to succeed, this one blockbuster trade could be the spark that reignites the Dallas Cowboys’ defense.
Kenny Clark?
LOVE IT!
Well, if the Titans wanted to trade Simmons for for a 1st and Steel, I’d probably give that some serious consideration but then I’d ask why? Gray is interesting but I feel like we have that guy already in James. Bringing Gray in might only serve to hurt James’ development. I like Gray OK but maybe a draft pick works better there, IDK. Maybe a 3rd back would be better. Having said all this, I still ask why? Why would Tennessee go for a deal like this? I feel like they would get better offers for Simmons but what do I know?
We have Kenny and Osa, now add Simmons? Have they ever started 3 DTs at one time? I think we need help elsewhere if we are going to spend a number 1 and personnel.
Don’t wait Jerry go for it take that offer the Cowboys need that push up the middle please pull the trigger on that trade
I would like to get Simmons, he’s a great player, but the problem isn’t our players, it’s our scheme!! Adding better players won’t fix the scheme!! If you watched the game last weekend against Washington, you would have seen that changing the scheme made our defense a lot better!! We already have a really good group of defensive players, Eberflus just needs to change his scheme to fit the players!! And when we played Washington that was proven!! He ran more man coverage and more blitzes and that made our defense a lot better!! So all he needs to do is do it at a higher rate and our defense will be fine!! When we played Washington last weekend, we did everything better with the scheme change…. We kept their rising RB to just 33 yards and just 2.5 yards a carry the whole game!! And even though they were without their top 2 receivers, they are still a high powered offense, and we still kept them to just 22 points!! And it can be even better if Eberflus decides to run more than 45% man coverage and does more blitzing!! And then it can be even better when we get our other injured players back, like Overshown and Diggs and maybe even Revel, and if Eberflus keeps the better players on the field, instead of playing favorites and putting the players he wants on the field, that’ll help too!! So like I said, we don’t need more players, we just need a new scheme!! And as long Eberflus does more of what he did last weekend, we’ll be just fine!!
And btw, you said we should trade for Simmons because our middle can’t generate pressure or stop the run, but what has Kenny Clark been for us!? He’s been a great player next to Osa, and even better last weekend!! So Simmons wouldn’t do anything but ruin the chemistry that Clark and Osa already have!! It would be nice to have both Simmons and Clark, but they’re both starting caliber DTs, and neither one of them are gonna wanna sit for too long while the other is playing most of the game!! Both of them are too good to be considered a backup!! So it really wouldn’t make sense to trade for Simmons while we have Clark!! So I think we should just leave it the way it is, we have the players to be a top 10 defense, we just need Eberflus to run more man coverage and bring in more blitzes!! And when we get Diggs, Overshown and Revel back, this defense could be dangerous!! So I don’t see any point in trading for anybody else!! We already have one of the best duos at corner and it could be a trio if Revel plays like he did in college, and we already have a about 6 edge rushers that are good enough to start for any other team, plus Ezeiruaku who is getting better every week, and needs more playing time so we’re loaded there, we have Osa and Clark at DT, plus Solomon Thomas who has been pretty good too, and at LB, we have James and Liufau and pretty soon we’ll have Overshown back too, and then at safety we have Hooker and Wilson, and Bell and Thomas, they just need to be played in the right spots!! So we don’t really need anymore help!! Out of all those positions, if we did need any help, I would say that we should bring in a better LB or 2, but if we do that it’ll stunt the growth of James, who’s been getting better every week too!! But I guess it wouldn’t hurt to have a better LB out there and have James be a backup until he’s fully ready to be a starter!! And I guess I wouldn’t complain if we got a better edge rusher that could get more sacks for us, but I wouldn’t know who we would have to lose to get that player!! Ezeiruaku already needs more playing time, Kneeland needs to play more because he’s good at getting pressure and stopping the run, and Clowney is the same way, and then we have Fowler who hasn’t been the player he was the last few years, but he’s still a good player that needs to play, and Sam Williams is a good edge rusher too, and Houston is one of the better edge rushers on the team, so who could we trade for and which one of these players would be screwed out of playing time!? That’s the problem I see with trading for another edge rusher!! I wouldn’t mind getting another one as long as he’s better than everyone else we already have, but if that can’t happen, then there’s no point!! So the only position I think we should trade for is at LB, just so we don’t have to worry about putting Sanborn back on the field as a starter, and Kenneth Murray should be replaced too, but I think Overshown will do that when he gets back!! So if we can trade for just one really good LB, I’ll be fine with it!! But I’ll also be fine if we don’t make a trade at all, just because I think our defense can be really good with the players we already have!! But that’s just my opinion!!
Simmons will be a costly acquisition. Jones won’t give up his Packer picks for this 28 year old, because that is what they will demand! Wait for Perrion Winfrey to return from his injury. Overshown will complement Shemar James at the LB position. Diggs wants badly to play man to man coverage which is his strong point! Revel is at practice now and almost fully recovered, what he will bring to the table is tantalizing to the imagination. Once these folks take the field I think the defense will be fine if Eberflus remains flexible in his defense schemes.
Or…just fire Eburflus and get a coach who builds a scheme using the players instead of a failed scheme that was also junk in Chicago where Eburflus was fired as his defense failed already. The Boys defense issue is Jerry hired Eburflus and then inexplicably gave Osa a massive contract. Osa is at best a 7 million a year guy and Jerry gave 80 over 4 years. Eburflus/Osa is the core of the failure on defense.
All this rabid talk about Jones making all these deals is simply bogus! No doubt he loves to see his name linked to this rumor that rumor which boosts his ego. The bottom line – Jones will not move anybody from his team at the trade deadline. He believes all those on IR coming back will be sufficient enough to make the playoffs. I think Perrion Winfrey and Overshown are two competitors who will make an impact.
a Dallas Cowboys fan, since the 70’s the Tennessee Titan’s is still rebuilding and cleaning house so getting rid of Jeffery Simmons and his big fat contract made the Tennessee Titan happy