Cowboys Ripped Over Trade for $28 Million Former First Round Pick

Getty

Former Los Angeles Charges linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr.

The Dallas Cowboys, like they do almost every offseason, have grabbed headlines almost as much as any team in the NFL.

And just like almost every offseason, those headlines don’t have much to do with winning games.

There’s drama over a new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, who it seems like nobody wanted. There’s drama over a trade for a new wide receiver with a bad reputation in George Pickens. There’s drama over their best overall player, edge rusher Micah Parsons, not having a contract extension yet.

Those are huge talking points. Huge issues. They makes what seem like smaller issues or issues that don’t seem as consequential kind of fade into the background.

That’s not a good thing. The margins of error in the NFL are just too small to overlook anything that could impact winning.

In the case of the Cowboys, that might turn out to be one of the NFL’s weakest groups of off-ball linebackers and a bad trade for a bad linebacker who’s slated to start for Dallas in former first round pick Kenneth Murray Jr.

“They raded for Kenneth Murray Jr., who, I’m just not a fan of his game, to be honest,” ESPN’s Mina Kimes said on “The Mina Kimes Show” on June 4. “And I don’t think he solves any of their problem … that’s a very, very weak linebacker group. That’s been the Achilles heel of their defense, of course.”

The Cowboys obtained Murray in a trade with the Tennessee Titans on March 5, sending a 2025 sixth round pick to the Titans in exchange for Murray and a 2025 seventh round pick (No. 239 overall) the Cowboys used on Clemson running back Phil Mafah.

Murray Might Be Playing Out of Position

There’s very little Murray does well at inside linebacker besides rush the passer, and he’s only done that at a high level the last 2 seasons.

In 2024, his 45.9 overall grade from PFF was one of the worst in the NFL for his position — 169th out of 189 eligible players at his position — and showed Murray was almost equally as bad against the pass as he was against the run.

Murray was a first round pick (No. 23 overall) by the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2020 NFL draft and started all 16 games as a rookie, when he had a career high 107 tackles.

Murray missed 6 games in 2021 and only had 31 tackles. When he returned to a full time starter in 2022, he only had 76 tackles. That rollercoaster led the Chargers to decline his fifth year option and he signed a 2-year, $15.5 million free agent contract with the Titans in March 2024.

Murray is due $7.5 million in 2025, which will bring his career earnings to $28.5 million.

Kenneth Murray is a firecracker off the snap. He has nice speed and doesn’t hesitate. He’s more of a finesse shedder than a physical one, so he’ll get washed out when blockers square up on him, but he has enough athleticism to make plays. Good move by the Cowboys.

Sanborn Could Give Cowboys Lift at Linebacker

Even if Murray doesn’t pan out, the Cowboys may have signed another free agent linebacker who might be able to give the group an unexpected lift.

Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder called Jack Sanborn the “Best Kept Secret” on the roster after he signed a 1-year, $1.5 million free agent contract with the Cowboys on March 12.

Sanborn spent the first 3 seasons of his career with the Chicago Bears.

“The team’s run defense could use some help, and that’s always been his strength, recording a 70.5 run-defense grade from Pro Football Focus in 2024,” Holder wrote on May 19.

Tony Adame covers the NFL for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos. A veteran sports writer and editor since 2004, his work has been featured at Stadium Talk, Yardbarker, NW Florida Daily News and Pensacola News Journal. More about Tony Adame