Comparing the 2 Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Options

Bobby Wagner Overview: Long-Time NFL Veteran Still Produces

(36 Y/O, 162 Total Tackles for Washington in 2025, All-Pro in 2024).

“B-Wags” has been filling up the tackle sheet in the NFL since 2012, and this is the first time he has really been left without a team.

The 36-year-old former Seahawk, Ram, and Commander, has been rumored to be a Cowboys target for a long time, but this seems like the first real chance at it becoming a reality.

Wagner’s 11-year All-Pro streak (insane stat right there) was broken last season, as his numbers took a slight downturn and his actual performance did seem like that of a nearly 40-year-old linebacker. The speed and quickness just isn’t as elite as it once was.

Still, he’s a fantastic IQ and locker room player, productive, and would clearly be a starter for Dallas. He isn’t a long-term fix like Brooks, but he is a logical low-cost band-aid on a big issue for Dallas.

Jordyn Brooks: Dolphins Star Would Bring Steep Cost & Elite Play

(28 Y/O, League-Leading 183 Total Tackles in 2025, First All-Pro Nod in 2025, New Expensive Extension, Dallas, TX Native).

Brooks’s stock skyrocketed last season with that absolutely elite year, and it resulted in trade rumors with Dallas and ultimately a new contract with Miami.

The deal was for 3-years and $51M in new money; that’s a steep price for a linebacker, no doubt about it, but at his age and with his trajectory, I think it ends up being a bargain. Despite the extension with the Phish, Bryan Broaddus noted whispers of Brooks talks with Dallas recently.

It would cost the Cowboys a draft pick, and a premium one to be certain, and they’d be taking on that new money. However, he is a long-term fix and an immediate star on a defense that is just a few steps away.

The former Red Raider would be a big investment, as opposed to Wagner, but he could be the best man for the job of turning the Cowboys linebacker room into one of the best in football.