​While the Dallas Cowboys have largely stayed quiet during the frenzied stretch of the offseason, a free-agent linebacking veteran with a Super Bowl MVP trophy to his name recently stirred conversation by posting a photo of himself in a Cowboys jersey on Instagram. The question is whether Dallas might pursue this path, especially with another linebacker already on the roster projected as a breakout candidate. Could the Cowboys be in the market for a proven RB2 to pair with Javonte Williams?
This season is ripe with rumors, and some of them carry real weight. Here is a snapshot of Dallas’ day in the rumor mill. Former No. 2 overall pick and Super Bowl 50 MVP, 37-year-old linebacker Von Miller, is a free agent who has dropped a subtle hint that the Cowboys could be on his radar. Miller, who has consistently expressed a desire to finish his career with the Denver Broncos—the team with whom he spent his first 11 NFL seasons and captured a Super Bowl—shared an image on Instagram of himself in a Dallas Cowboys jersey, set to the Paul Wall track “They Don’t Know.” A Dallas (DeSoto) native and Texas A&M alum, Miller recorded nine sacks last season with the Washington Commanders, a team he opted to join instead of the eventual Super Bowl champions, Seattle, a choice he now says he regrets.
Miller’s résumé is stacked: Super Bowl 50 MVP, a ring with the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI, three first-team All-Pro selections, four second-team All-Pro honors, and eight Pro Bowl appearances. Such credentials make him an intriguing option for any defense looking to bolster its edge pressure and leadership.
Meanwhile, ESPN has circulated a list of potential breakout players for every team in 2026, with a growing consensus pointing to Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown as Dallas’ breakout candidate. Overshown, a Texas product entering his fourth season with the Cowboys, has shown flashes of exceptional ability when healthy but has faced two major injuries early in his pro career.
ESPN’s Ben Solak notes that Overshown’s emergence in 2024 was striking despite the circumstances: “This is less of a breakout and more of a re-breakout.” He missed his 2023 rookie season due to a torn ACL in the preseason. When he returned for Week 1 of 2024, he looked incredibly fast on a Cowboys defense that was otherwise slow, making it hard not to notice him. However, a devastating torn ACL, MCL, and PCL in Week 13 of 2024 sidelined him for the rest of the season and carried into 2025. After his return last season in Week 11, Overshown didn’t look like himself, registering only one tackle-for-loss in six games after posting eight in 13 games the previous year. He did reach several top-end speeds in 2024—clearing 19 mph on seven occasions, according to NFL Next Gen Stats—but those numbers did not recur in 2025.
As the Cowboys navigate this offseason, the question remains whether they will pursue a veteran like Miller to add immediate impact and leadership, or lean into the potential of Overshown and the rest of the linebacker corps, hoping his health and continued development unlock a higher ceiling. The Cowboys’ front office will need to weigh the value of proven production against the potential long-term development of a younger player who has already shown rare speed and playmaking ability when available.
In the broader context, the Cowboys’ offseason is shaping up as a mix of evaluating veteran options who can contribute right away and cultivating internal depth that could yield dividends down the road. If Dallas were to bring in a veteran like Miller, it would send a clear signal about prioritizing edge-wide production and championships in the near term, while continuing to monitor Overshown’s trajectory as a potentially central piece of the defense in the coming years. Either path could redefine how Dallas constructs its linebacker corps and how the team positions itself for sustained success in a competitive NFC landscape.