Sources: Niners trade LB Winters to Cowboys

Sources: Niners trade LB Winters to Cowboys

Todd Archer Close Todd Archer ESPN Staff Writer Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010. and Nick Wagoner Close Nick Wagoner ESPN Staff Writer Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick…

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    Todd Archer

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      Todd Archer is an NFL reporter at ESPN and covers the Dallas Cowboys. Archer has covered the NFL since 1997 and Dallas since 2003. He joined ESPN in 2010.

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    Nick Wagoner

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      Nick Wagoner is an NFL reporter at ESPN. Nick has covered the San Francisco 49ers since 2016, having previously covered the St. Louis Rams for 12 years, including three years (2013 to 2015) at ESPN. In over a decade with the company, Nick has led ESPN’s coverage of the Niners’ 2019 and 2023 Super Bowl run, Colin Kaepernick’s protest, the Rams making Michael Sam the first openly gay player drafted to the NFL, Sam’s subsequent pursuit of a roster spot and the team’s relocation and stadium saga.

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Apr 24, 2026, 08:12 PM ET

FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys acquired linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers on Friday for pick No. 152 in the fifth round of the NFL draft.

The Cowboys searched for a middle linebacker in free agency but didn’t land Quay Walker, Devin Lloyd or Nakobe Dean.

The Cowboys had trade discussions with several teams, including the Houston Texans for Azeez Al-Shaair and the Miami Dolphins for Jordyn Brooks, according to sources, but what those teams wanted in return was too much.

The Cowboys could still add a linebacker in the draft, but Winters is a young veteran with 27 starts. Before the trade, the Cowboys had only three off-ball linebackers in DeMarvion Overshown, Shemar James and Justin Barron.

Had the Cowboys not been able to select pass rusher Malachi Lawrence with their second first-round pick Thursday, then Georgia’s CJ Allen would have been one of their top targets for the pick, according to sources.

Winters, 5-foot-11 and 227 pounds, was a sixth-round pick of the Niners in 2023 out of TCU. In 17 starts at weakside linebacker last season, he was credited with 101 tackles and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown.

Dre Greenlaw returned to San Francisco in March after his release from the Denver Broncos. With Greenlaw expected to return to the starting role and Winters entering the final year of his rookie deal, the Niners sacrificed some linebacker depth for an additional draft pick.

Behind starters Greenlaw and Fred Warner, the Niners also have Tatum Bethune, Luke Gifford, Garret Wallow and Nick Martin, last year’s third-round selection, as linebacker depth.

San Francisco entered the draft with six picks but has eight after trading Winters, including three in the fourth round and two more in the fifth.

This is the second trade the Cowboys and Niners have executed this offseason. Dallas received a third-round pick from San Francisco for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.

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