{"id":195231,"date":"2026-03-08T00:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/195231\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T00:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T00:16:09","slug":"major-trade-fuels-speculation-on-cowboys-pursuit-of-star-lb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/195231\/","title":{"rendered":"Major Trade Fuels Speculation on Cowboys Pursuit of Star LB"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<img width=\"780\" height=\"439\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-1898523253-e1772926590586.jpg\" class=\"attachment-featured-image size-featured-image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\"   decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>Quay Walker #7 of the Green Bay Packers is set for free agency, and the Dallas Cowboys have interest.<\/p>\n<p>There was a trade of significance that went down in the <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/\" title=\"NFL\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"182878\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NFL<\/a> on Saturday, and though the <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/dallas-cowboys\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Dallas Cowboys<\/a> were not involved, there are ramifications for the team and its free agency plans. The <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/green-bay-packers\/\" title=\"Packers\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"182880\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Packers<\/a> traded away defensive lineman <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/Colby-Wooden\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Colby Wooden<\/a>\u2013the player the team called upon to replace <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/Kenny-Clark\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kenny Clark<\/a> after he was dealt to Dallas last year\u2013to the Colts for linebacker <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/Zaire-Franklin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Zaire Franklin<\/a>, a move that signals the Packers\u2019 surrendering hope of re-signing linebacker <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/nfl\/player\/quay-walker\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Quay Walker<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>As NFL Network\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TomPelissero\/status\/2030385746897453334\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Tom Pelissero wrote on Twitter\/X<\/a>: \u201cThe Packers wanted to keep LB Quay Walker and made several runs at re-signing him before the Zaire Franklin trade. But it now appears the former first-round pick will hit free agency Monday, and he is expected to have a strong market.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s where the deal turns into a Cowboys story. Dallas badly needs a new linebacker, and Walker is now among the best who will be on the board.<\/p>\n<p>Quay Walker a Rumored Cowboys Target<\/p>\n<p>In fact, the Cowboys have been rumored to have an interest in Walker before. Again, just as a matter of need and position, that interest is obvious\u2013the Cowboys will not be bringing back Logan Wilson and Kenneth Murray, after all.<\/p>\n<p>Packers reporter Easton Butler noted<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Easton__Butler\/status\/2029394715754270850\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\"> on Twitter\/X<\/a> last week, \u201cThe Cowboys are interested in FA LBs Bobby Okereke and Quay Walker, per source.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Walker is a former first-round pick out of Georgia who has played 58 games, with 57 starts, in four seasons for the Packers.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe Not a Fit for the Cowboys<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s some question as to whether Walker would be the ideal fit for new Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker. He has been credited for working on his mental health after he was twice ejected from games in his rookie season, but even if Walker is not as hotheaded as he was when he came into the league, there\u2019s some question about his playing style.<\/p>\n<p>No doubt, Walker is a playmaker, and one of the better athletes at the position. But the Cowboys and Parker might be looking for more of a system linebacker, a guy who wears the green dot and organizes his teammate. That\u2019s probably not Walker.<\/p>\n<p>Price will be a factor, too. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.spotrac.com\/nfl\/player\/market-value\/_\/id\/76876\/quay-walker\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">Spotrac projects Walker<\/a> to get a deal worth $25 million over three years, which is not a back-breaker, but could be very much undervalued. Pro Football Focus, despite being down on Walker as a player (rated No. 76 out of 88 linebackers), projects him as a $15 million-per-year guy, earning $45 million over three years.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5778439\" class=\" wp-image-5778439\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2173202518-e1771461365941.jpg\" alt=\"Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is a likely Dallas Cowboys target.\" width=\"752\" height=\"421\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5778439\" class=\" wp-image-5778439\" data-lazy-load=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2173202518-e1771461365941.jpg\" alt=\"Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is a likely Dallas Cowboys target.\" width=\"752\" height=\"421\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5778439\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">GettyPhiladelphia Eagles linebacker Nakobe Dean is a likely Dallas Cowboys target.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of Alternatives to Quay Walker<\/p>\n<p>Adding more names to the pool of players at a position the Cowboys badly need, though, is a good thing for Dallas, even if Walker is not a fit. If, say, the Eagles or <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/sports\/nfl\/washington-commanders\/\" title=\"Commanders\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"182879\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Commanders<\/a> like what they see in Walker, it could make the path to signing Nakobe Dean from Philadelphia or Bobby Wagner from Washington that much easier.<\/p>\n<p>Walker is only No. 18 on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pff.com\/nfl\/free-agency?season=2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external nofollow\">PFF list of top free-agent linebackers<\/a>, with Devin Lloyd and Devin Bush at No. 1 and 2.<\/p>\n<p>Dean, for what it\u2019s worth, is rated the No. 3 linebacker on the list, and given his history with Parker in Philadelphia, remains the Cowboys\u2019 most likely option.<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/seandeveneyheavycom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sean Deveney<\/a> 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 &#8220;Fun City,&#8221; &#8220;Before Wrigley became Wrigley,&#8221; and &#8220;Facing Michael Jordan.&#8221;  <a href=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/author\/seandeveneyheavycom\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">More about Sean Deveney<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Cowboys\n\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Quay Walker #7 of the Green Bay Packers is set for free agency, and the Dallas Cowboys&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[102,104,103],"class_list":{"0":"post-195231","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-headlines","10":"tag-dallas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}