The Dallas Cowboys entered the offseason with some huge concerns at the linebacker position. Last year, they relied on veteran Eric Kendricks, second-year redshirt DeMarvion Overshown, and rookie Marist Liufau to handle the majority of the workload. They also had Damone Clark and Nick Vigil, but both played less than 15% of the snaps on defense yet in the top five in snaps on special teams.

Entering the new season, the Cowboys were running quite thin at linebacker. Kendricks was only on a one-year deal and was a Mike Zimmer-guy many weren’t expecting to return. Overshown suffered a terrible knee injury last season and it’s unclear what his recovery will be like and if he will even play in 2025. Vigil was also on a one-year deal so he’s out, and while Clark still has one year remaining on his rookie deal, he’s not expected to hold a meaningful role after an unimpressive 2023 season. That essentially left Liufau as the team’s sole survivor at linebacker.

With the situation bleak, the Cowboys took action, first signing former Chicago Bears linebacker Jack Sanborn. Primarily a backup, this undrafted free agent made 19 starts for the Bears over three seasons. Like Clark and Vigil, Sanborn spent significant time on special teams. This signing wasn’t anything that was going to move the needle much.

But then, the Cowboys got a little more serious. They swapped some late-round picks from next month’s draft to acquire former first-round pick Kenneth Murray from the Tennessee Titans. Murray has one year left of the two-year, $15.5 million deal he signed last offseason. The Cowboys will now pick up his $7.4 million cap hit, sending a sixth-round pick and gaining a seventh-round pick in next month’s draft.

The move for Murray is interesting. The Cowboys saw that starting linebackers were going for over $10 million a season in free agency. Instead of throwing money in that direction, the team got on the phones and worked a deal for Murray. They get a 26-year-old player who already had 67 starts under his belt. And while he hasn’t lived up to this first-round pedigree, Murray is a guy who can help fill the void at the linebacker position.

Murray possesses good athleticism and can get from point A to point B in a hurry. He’s an excellent gap shooter and strong sideline pursuer. In the open field, he’ll chase people down. There are certainly traits he has that can help the defense.

But it’s not all good. There are many things Murray has issues with as well. When blockers square up on him, he’s in trouble. He doesn’t exhibit the strength or hand fighting fundamentals to get himself out of trouble. He also is a gambler. He’s decisive so he’ll act fast, but sometimes that results in poor angles and getting washed out of plays.

The Cowboys are better at linebacker than they were before free agency started and with their new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus specializing in linebacker, it’s reasonable to be optimistic about the addition of Murray. There’s certainly something to work with. At the same time, it’s wise to temper expectations as well. There will be plays where fans won’t be happy and opposing teams will run off a big play. How effective he’ll be for the Cowboys is a big TBD.

With Liufau building off a good rookie season and the hope that Overshown eventually returns, there is a shiny light way down yonder. The Cowboys need to buy themselves some time and the trade for Murray helps them do that. As long as we have a realistic expectation of what they’re getting, fans should be satisfied with this move.