The Cowboys Just Pulled Off a Deadline Robbery — and Landed a $36 Million Star No One Thought They Could Get.QQ
The Dallas Cowboys weren’t joking around when they said they had a trade in place ahead of the 2025 NFL trade deadline on Tuesday, November 4.
According to multiple reports, the Cowboys have acquired Cincinnati Bengals off ball linebacker Logan Wilson.
“Logan Wilson was a player the Bengals weren’t using that much and had asked to be traded,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano said on November 4. “So they get a player from a player on the only NFL defense arguably worse than theirs.”
While the terms of Wilson’s deal weren’t yet determined, he’s found himself playing behind rookie Barrett Carter this season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones teased that he had a trade in place on Monday, November 3, before his team suffered an embarrassing, 27-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football, then reiterated that after the game.
“A deal for Dallas: Cowboys are finalizing a trade to acquire Bengals MLB Logan Wilson, sources tell me and Todd Archer,” ESPN’s Adam Schefter wrote on his official X account on November 4. “Earlier Monday, Jerry Jones told Stephen A. Smith that the Cowboys have made a trade ahead of Tuesday’s NFL deadline. It is expected to be for Wilson, for whom the Bengals have been seeking a sixth-round pick. Wilson signed four-year $36 million extension in July 2023 that still has two years remaining on it after this season.”
The Cowboys are ranked 31st out of 32 NFL teams in total defense and their best off ball linebacker, DeMarvion Overshown, is coming off his second major knee injury in the last 2 years after he tore his ACL in Week 14 of the 2024 regular season and won’t be back until a Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs, at the earliest.
The deal also fills an immediate need for the Cowboys after one of their off ball linebackers, Jack Sanborn, was placed on injured reserve with a groin injury ahead of the Cardinals game.
Sanborn has 34 tackles in 6 games this season after signing a 1-year, $1.5 million free agent contract with the Cowboys in March.
Established NFL Playmaker in AFC North
Wilson, 6-foot-2 and 245 pounds, was a 2-time All-Mountain West Conference pick at the University of Wyoming before the Bengals selected him in the third round (No. 65 overall) of the 2020 NFL draft.
Wilson became a full time starter in his second season — the same year the Bengals shocked the NFL and played in the Super Bowl for the first time since 1988.
In the last 4 seasons, Wilson has over 100 tackles each year and his “difference making” career numbers jump off the page; 12 career interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, 26 pass deflections, 19 TFL and 18 QB hits.
Through 8 games in 2025, Wilson has 46 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.
Perhaps the biggest consideration for Wilson if the Cowboys were to make a deal would be the price — it’s a big high for an off ball linebacker.
The Bengals signed Wilson, 29 years old, to a 4-year, $36 million contract extension before the 2023 season. While the Buccaneers would only be on the hook for roughly half of the $5.918 million he’s owed this season, that number goes up to $6.55 million in 2026 and $7.21 million in the final year of his contract in 2027.
