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Cowboys linebackers room in 2025 was a disaster

Originally posted on Inside The Star
By Richard Paolinelli | Last updated Jan 22, 2026 10:02 AM ET

In 2025, the Dallas Cowboys made a move in free agency and swung for the fences with two trades to shore up their linebacker room.

They couldn’t have gotten it any more wrong if they tried.

Jack Sanborn was brought in from Chicago along with former Bears head coach Matt Eberflus. Both linebacker and defensive coordinator flopped badly.

The Cowboys traded with the Los Angeles Chargers for linebacker Kenneth Murray.

Murray started 16 games and, as he is a free agent in less than two months, shouldn’t start, much less play, another down in a Cowboys’ uniform.

Logan Wilson was a trade deadline acquisition from Cincinnati that cost Dallas a seventh round pick in April. The Cowboys quickly found out why the Bengals benched him.

Out of six linebackers on the roster, only three should be on the team when free agency begins.

Let’s see which three made the cut and which three should be cut.

The Keepers

Assuming DeMarvion Overshown can stay healthy for a full season, which he hasn’t so far in two years, he should be the anchor of the linebacker room.

Overshown battled back from a second knee injury and saw the field for six games.

He started in five of those games but missed the final two games with a concussion. He finished the year with 28 tackles.

For whatever reason, Marist Liufau got in Eberflus’ doghouse and spent a lot of time on special teams.

Liufau did get five starts in 17 games and finished the year with 30 tackles and one sack. Whoever the new defensive coordinator is, look for Liufau’s playing time to increase in 2026.

Once Shemar James was put out onto the field, he produced.

James started in six games, playing in 14 for the year, and had 91 tackles along with 1.5 sacks.

James forced a fumble while sacking Jayden Daniels. That play sent Daniels to IR and derailed Washington’s season.

A starting linebacker corps of Overshown, Liufau, and James could be formidable in 2026.

Start Packing Fellas

Murray will be a free agent in a few weeks and Dallas should wave at him as he leaves town. He did start all but one game, but he was very ineffective.

Murray did finish with 81 tackles and a sack in 2025.

But he was beaten on far too many plays, and out of position far too often.

With Eberflus’ departure, Sanborn should also be gone as he too will be an unrestricted free agent in a few weeks. Sanborn finished with just 34 tackles in six games.

Wilson might be the only one of the three that remains.

He would be a $0 cap hit if Dallas were to cut him before camp.

However, his contract hit will be around $6.5 million this year and a little over seven million in 2027. With the right defensive coordinator, he could be salvaged.

Linebacker Will Be A Draft Need

The Cowboys will almost certainly need to spend one of their two first round picks on a middle linebacker. The defensive line had next to no help in stopping the run from this position in 2025.

That mustn’t be a recurring theme in 2026.

This article first appeared on Inside The Star and was syndicated with permission.

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