Report: Dallas Cowboys trade San Francisco 49ers for LB Dee Winters

On Monday, the Dallas Cowboys traded the No. 152 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the San Francisco 49ers, in exchange for linebacker Dee Winters, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Winters is 25 years old and entering his fourth NFL season.

In the 2025-26 campaign, Dee Winters started in all 17 of the 49ers’ regular-season games. He recorded a career-high 101 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five pass breakups and an interception. In his first two professional seasons, Winters amassed 30 appearances and 10 starts.

The Cowboys are undoubtedly attempting to strengthen their defense this offseason. Dallas selected safety Caleb Downs with the No. 11 overall pick in the draft and EDGE Malachi Lawrence just 13 picks later.

The Cowboys particularly received praise from pundits for their decision to secure Downs, who began his career at Alabama before transferring to Ohio State, where he spent the final two seasons of his collegiate career.

Downs stockpiled numerous individual accolades during his collegiate career. He earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors twice and was a two-time unanimous All-American. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban raved about Caleb Downs on Thursday.

“This is as fine a young man as you’re ever going to find to be a part of your team,” Saban said on the ABC broadcast. “He’s a great competitor, he’s got great character, he’s so instinctive as a player. He can play downhill, he can play in the box, he can play in the deep field, he can play man-to-man. This guy is a tremendous, tremendous person and competitor.

“And I tell you what, there’s only a few guys that I love more than this guy as a player on our football team. He did a great job and improved even more at Ohio State. And I’m going to give the Dallas Cowboys a little tip. His mama, in recruiting, made the best white chili I ever ate. You need to go there.”

With a revamped defensive roster, the Cowboys will look to take a significant step forward next season.  The Cowboys posted a 7-9-1 record in the 2025-26 campaign. It was Schottenheimer’s debut season at the helm of the storied organization.

The Cowboys missed out on the playoffs for the second consecutive season. Dallas hasn’t advanced past the divisional round of the playoffs since it won the Super Bowl in 1995.