Jordyn Brooks might be the clue everyone missed, or just flat out dismiss, while trying to figure out exactly what the Cowboys have been working on behind the scenes.
We all know Jerry and Stephen Jones were caught talking with team doctor Dan Cooper, then Stephen got on 105.3 The Fan and started talking around tampering, trades, and veterans who still have tread left on the tires.
There were no names, and he didn’t confirm anything, but I still started digging.
The more I looked at it, the more I came back to Jordyn Brooks.
The Jordyn Brooks Connection Has Always Been There
Dallas has already been connected to Jordyn Brooks, and Miami had several teams calling about him earlier this offseason.
When I went back and looked at what Brooks did last year:
183 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and a first-team All-Pro nod in 2025.
To say that is attention grabbing may be downplaying it.
If Dallas somehow pulled this off, Brooks isn’t coming in to compete for snaps. He’s coming in to be the best player in the room.
I thought the idea was dead when Miami signed him to a three-year, $51.3 million extension with $35 million guaranteed. My first reaction to this deal was pretty simple, “Well, there goes that player.”
But then I dug into the contract more. According to Over The Cap, Jordyn Brooks got a $12.31 million signing bonus, while his 2026 base salary is only $1.215 million.
Miami already paid the bonus and that changed the whole way I looked at this trade.
The $51.3 million headline makes the deal sound impossible. Once I got past that number and looked at what Dallas would actually be dealing with in 2026, I didn’t brush it off.
I’m Not Convinced the Extension Killed It
Now this is where I started wondering if everybody looked at the extension the wrong way.
Before Jordyn Brooks got the new deal, Dallas could have been staring at two problems. First, give me Miami premium draft capital. Then turn around and negotiate a big deal with Brooks. If I’m Dallas, that’s a hard sell.
Now Miami handled the contract and Jordyn Brooks got his money. The big upfront bonus has been paid.
I’m not saying Miami sat there and thought to themselves we are going to build a contract with a master plan to flip him in a couple weeks. I haven’t seen anything proving that, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
But I also don’t buy the fact that extension automatically shut the door.
If Dallas really wants Jordyn Brooks, Miami can sit there and make them come up with a serious offer because they have no reason to move him for cheap.
Then I went one step further and checked what a trade would actually do to Miami’s cap. This is where it gets interesting compared to what is seen on social media.
Going back to Over The Cap and looking at their post-June 1st trade calculation, Miami would be left with roughly $4.95 million in dead money in 2026 but would still create about $1.265 million in cap space by trading Jordyn Books.
That’s not some massive cap grenade the Dolphins would have to jump on to make a deal.
And now we can look at that extension differently.
Brook’s got his guaranteed money and Miami paid it upfront. His contract is settled, and the Dolphins don’t have to move him, which means they can sit back and say whatever they want to get a team to pay a price they like.
There was more to it before the draft, but Brooks and Miami are locked in heading into 2026 after getting the extension done. They don’t have any interest in dealing him.
If I’m Miami, I wouldn’t answer the phone for some late-round pick. You want my first-team All-Pro linebacker after I just extended him?
Bring me something that hurts a little.
If Dallas is willing to put a premium draft pick on the table, I’m having than conversation.
That’s the whole thing that makes this more interesting to me. The extension looked like the piece that killed the Brooks idea when I first saw it. The deeper I got into the contract, the less I believe it did.
Von Miller Keeps Hanging Around Too
How can we ignore Von Miller?
Miller has made it very public that he wants to be in Dallas, and he’s coming off a nine-sack season while being used mostly as a rotational pass rusher.
When Stephen started talking about veterans who still have some tread left, Miller is the first name that jumps out at me. And this one would be a little easier to pull off for the Cowboys.
You work through the money, let Dr. Cooper handle the medical side for the older player and decide whether Miller still has enough left to help.
Jordyn Brooks and Von Miller are two completely different moves.
Brooks is the big swing, Miller is the easier move if Dallas just wants another proven pass rusher without giving anything up.
I Don’t Think This Is All Smoke
I don’t know what Dr. Cooper, Jerry, and Stephen were talking about. But I also don’t believe all of this is popping up at the same time for no reason.
Dallas has already been linked to Jordyn Brooks. I went back and looked at this contract, and it isn’t nearly as ugly as I expected. Stephen is talking about trades and veterans, while everybody is interested that the Cooper meeting happened.
Then Von Miller is still sitting there as the obvious veteran option.
Maybe Dallas ends up with neither one and I can live with that.
But after looking at all of the information, I’m having a hard time believing this front office is just sitting around waiting for Week 1.
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