From the moment the Dallas Cowboys poached Eagles defensive assistant Christian Parker to succeed Matt Eberflus, fans have connected American’s Team to former Georgia Bulldog and Philly free-agent, linebacker, Nakobe Dean.
It’s no secret that Dallas is going to address their linebacking corps one way or another this spring; their unit in 2025 was one of the worst in the entire league, as signings Jack Sanborn and Kenneth Murray flopped.
Their issues at linebacker went beyond those free agent signings, however. 2024 draftee Marist Liufau, and 2025 rookie Shemar James also failed to make an impact.
This is all to say that the interest in Dean is valid: Dallas hasn’t hit on linebacker draft picks, and their rare free agent pickups have been even worse, but you have to keep swinging until something connects on the sweet spot.
Dean could be that home run signing, and it’s why the rumors around him and the Cowboys transitioned from fan-centric speculation to actual reporting this week.
Cowboys Expected To “Heavily Pursue” Nakobe Team, According To Multiple Sources
On Thursday, February 26th, Clarence Hill of DLLS Sports reported that the Cowboys would pursue Nakobe Dean in free agency, noting his connection to Parker’s scheme. Bryan Broaddus, on 105.3 The Fan, backed up that reported on Friday.
https://twitter.com/Brandoniswrite/status/2027559335396553086
This got the Dean talk running rampant amongst Cowboys fans, but that wasn’t the end of the reporting.
Jeremy Fowler from ESPN brought a more national spotlight to the story today, when he reported that Dallas would in fact be on “Dean watch” when free agency opens in just under two weeks.
All of these guys are great reporters that fans should trust; all three saying the same thing means this is not smoke: the Cowboys will absolutely pursue Dean when the time comes, and they have the money to do it.
The only question is will they land him, and is he or is he not the right guy to chase with the $66M in salary cap space Dallas just opened up with contract restructuring.
The Case For: Proven NFL Ability, Genuine Familiarity With Scheme
The biggest thing that comes with signing Dean has already been mentioned: the connection and familiarity he has with Christian Parker and the new defense he is bringing to Dallas.
Especially at linebacker, that kind of previous knowledge base is critical in a new defense, and it would be huge for the Cowboys to have on day one.
Secondly, however, this guy has proven he can play at a high level in the NFL.
In 2025, he forced two fumbles, had four sacks, and 55 total tackles in just ten games played for Philly. The year prior, he played and started in 15 games, recording a staggering 128 tackles, and six quarterback hits.
Sign me up yesterday for that kind of impact, considering just how poor Dallas’s linebackers have been in recent years.
The Case Against: Dallas Needs Reliability At Linebacker, & He Can’t Provide That
The flip side? There is no guarantee he can make that kind of impact on a consistent basis, which could make a big contract look pretty bad.
As mentioned, Dean only played 10 games in 2025 due to injury, and in total, he’s missed almost thirty regular-season games since entering the league in 2022. If you can’t call him injury prone yet, he’s certainly on the brink of earning that label.
One could easily argue that with Dallas’s postseason hopes, limited spending history in free agency, and desperate need for immediate and reliable linebacker help, signing Dean isn’t a match.
The Cowboys will pursue him, and they have good reasons why, but you had better hope these real concerns don’t come back to bite you.
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