The first trade of deadline day in the NFL is on the board. Naturally, it was Jerry Jones who got the party started, striking a deal with the Cincinnati Bengals for veteran linebacker Logan Wilson. Jones, Dallas’ owner and general manager, revealed on Monday that his club had a deal in the works, but kept his cards close to the vest for the most part. Now, that deal has since been revealed, with Wilson heading to AT&T Stadium as Cincinnati lands a Day 3 pick in 2026.
While the Bengals have arguably the worst defense in the NFL, Wilson being moved shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. The linebacker had previously requested a trade out of Cincinnati after he saw his role decrease in 2025. Still, it is a rather seismic move for the Bengals as Wilson, a team captain, had been a key figure at linebacker, including during the team’s run to Super Bowl LVI during the 2022 season. For Dallas, this is a move in hopes that it’ll help turn the tide of what has been a poor first half of the season on defense, which includes allowing the Jacoby Brissett-led Cardinals to post 27 points in an upset win on Monday night.
With this trade in the books, let’s examine it even further and hand out our grades to see which club came out on top.
The trade
- Cowboys get: LB Logan Wilson
- Bengals get: 2026 seventh-round pick
Dallas Cowboys: B
The Dallas defense is in a bad way. Coming out of Week 9, the club is allowing 6.1 yards per play (third-highest in the NFL), 7.7 yards per pass attempt (third-highest), and 30.8 points per game (second-highest). That 30.8 points per game total is the most alarming, as no team in NFL history has made the playoffs allowing 30 or more per game, so Jerry Jones needed to make a move to improve the unit.
While it may feel like a last-ditch effort with the club sitting at 3-5-1 on the year, Wilson does have the potential to help them pressure the quarterback. The veteran linebacker has the third-highest pass-rushing grade among linebackers this season, according to Pro Football Focus.
Giving yourself a puncher’s chance to improve on defense and with hopes of pushing back into the playoff conversation is certainly worth giving up a 2026 seventh-rounder.
Cincinnati Bengals: D
Maybe the only defense worse than the Cowboys is Cincinnati. Whether it’s yards per play allowed (6.4) or points per game allowed (33.3), the Bengals have the worst defense in the NFL by most measures, so seeing them lose a piece is hardly ideal. In their eyes, Wilson was a declining player as he fell out of the starting rotation and began playing more on special teams. That led to the veteran requesting a trade. When that happens, the return is never going to be outstanding for a player of his stature and point in his career.
With that in mind, Cincinnati was painted into a corner a bit in terms of what it could get for Wilson, but a 2026 seventh-rounder hardly moves the needle. It’s essentially a coin flip if the player they take with that pick will even make the roster next summer, so no one should be falling out of their chairs with this deal from a Bengals standpoint.
