Even after drafting a linebacker in Jaishawn Barham and trading for veteran Dee Winters, the Dallas Cowboys need more help at the position. Specifically, they need a candidate to man the middle linebacker spot, which isn’t really what Winters did in San Francisco for the 49ers.

That’s why when news broke about Detroit Lions linebacker Jack Campbell—a first-time All-Pro in 2025—being potentially headed for free agency in 2027, fans immediately began daydreaming about making a trade happen.

Unfortunately, I’m here to pour a bucket of cold water into such hopes.

Campbell is likely not headed anywhere

The buzz took off when reports emerged on the Lions declining the fifth-year option on Campbell. The news means barring an extension, this is a contract year for Campbell.

However, that’s not a product of Detroit not being all-in on their standout defender but rather the product of fifth-year option price tags grouping together inside and outside linebackers.

In other words, the Lions would have to pay Campbell EDGE-caliber money ($22 million guaranteed) instead of off-ball linebacker money. The highest-paid off-ball linebacker is Fred Warner at $21 million per year.

For more insight on what the Lions really think of Campbell, I reached out to our own Mike Payton from A to Z Sports Detroit.

“The thought process for some outside of Detroit might be that the Lions are in a position where they simply can’t afford all of their players, and because of that, they couldn’t pick up the fifth-year option for Jack Campbell,” Payton explains. “That is unequivocally not what is happening here.”

“The Lions are playing some financial games here,” he adds. “The idea is that an off-ball linebacker getting a near $22 million option that’s fully guaranteed is on the crazy high side. Ideally, what you do is deny the option and then make it up to him in the market setting, extension the Lions are expected to give him before the season.

“This way, the Lions can organize the deal the way they like to do it A lot of guaranteed money up front, combined with low cap hits and a void year or two. Campbell is not going anywhere.”

So while the off-the-cuff logic of Campbell and the Lions not being on the same page seems to make sense, it doesn’t hold up under scrutiny.

Cowboys could still target a free agent linebacker

It may not be Campbell they target, but I don’t think the Cowboys are done adding at the position. Winters, Barham, and DeMarvion Overshown are all more weak-side linebackers than they are true middle linebackers.

Unless the Cowboys believes they can teach one of them to play the position at a high level, it would be smart of them to sign a veteran free agent for the role. Below are some of the names available in the market:

• Bobby Wagner
• Shaq Thompson
• Germaine Pratt
• Bobby Okereke