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Quay Walker chose to sign with the Raiders after a Zoom meeting with the Dallas Cowboys.
The first day of NFL free agency began hopefully enough for the Dallas Cowboys defense, with the addition of pass-rusher Rashan Gary in a trade from the Packers for a 2027 fourth-round pick. And there was more hope when the team’s long-rumored interest in safety Jalen Thompson materialized into a contract, as Thompson signed on with the Cowboys for a three-year, $36 million deal. But linebacker was a Cowboys priority, with Quay Walker and Nakobe Dean at the top of the team’s list.
And the Cowboys lost out on both. To the same team–the Raiders signed both Walker and Dean on Monday, swiping Dallas’ top two options at the position. Walker got a three-year, $40.5 million deal from Las Vegas, while Dean got three years and $36 million.
While there was a presumption, and plenty of rumors, suggesting that the Cowboys were the clear leaders on Dean, and that his connection with Christian Parker, the new Cowboys defensive coordinator who was with Dean in Philadelphia, meant Dean was likely heading to Dallas, ESPN’s Todd Archer revealed that it was actually Walker the Cowboys wanted most.
Cowboys Had a Zoom With Quay Walker
Here’s what Archer, the site’s Cowboys beat writer, wrote about the team’s search for a starting linebacker, which has so far been fruitless:
“Cowboys were in the mix for Quay Walker, who ended up joining the Raiders, per sources. Told Walker had a Zoom with Cowboys earlier in the day. He was higher on their list than Nakobe Dean. Search for LB continues.”
That’s the biggest disappointment thus far in the opening hours of NFL free agency for the Cowboys. Walker would have seemed to be a guy the team could reel in, and though his contract is especially rich for the linebacker position, it’s something the Cowboys could have made space for–and indeed, team owner Jerry Jones all but promised to make space for deals like that.
Getty Nakobe Dean won’t be signing with the Cowboys in free agency.
Jerry Jones Promised Cowboys Spending
Remember, the quote from Jones on the Cowboys luxury bus at the NFL draft combine in Indianapolis 10 days ago.
Said Jones: “I can see me being aggressive, I can see us being aggressive in free agency. I am excited about doing everything we can now to have a better record than we had last year, a better team than we had last year. That’s why we have been doing what we’ve been doing with the coaching staff.
“I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have. The only way for me to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future. That’s one representation that you’re thinking of now as opposed to the future.”
What’s Next After Nakobe Dean, Quay Walker Misses
There are still names on the board for the Cowboys at linebacker, and certainly, there is still room to make a major addition. But the top names are gone, and for a team that has struggled so badly to fill that spot in recent years, that comes with a certain level of frustration.
But top overall linebacker free agent Devin Lloyd is still on the market, though his estimated market value (per Pro Football Focus) is $16 million per year–a three-year, $48 million deal might be too rich for Dallas.
There’s 35-year-old Bobby Wagner, too, who has been linked to Dallas and would make some sense as a short-term fix, especially if the Cowboys hunt for a long-term linebacker project in the NFL draft.
Still, the Cowboys had high hopes on Walker and Dean. And both now are gone.
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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