It's that time of the year where trade conversations are heating up and just about every scenario is being thrown out there. The latest example of that came in a trade idea involving the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers that was floated by ESPN.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler and Matt Bowen listed off 25 trade candidates ahead of the deadline on Nov. 10.

Among them was Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen, and Dallas was named among the best fits for him, along with the Buffalo Bills.

The problem with that idea, as Fowler notes, is that the Steelers are unlikely to trade Queen amid a 5-2 start to the season. That made us wonder why he would even be listed in the first place.

"Rumors of a Queen trade persisted in the spring, with the Cowboys among teams that checked on his availability," Fowler said. "He's also a 2027 free agent. But the Steelers' status as a 5-2 team likely keeps him in Pittsburgh."

It is true that the Cowboys were rumored to have interest in a trade for Queen, but the possibility of acquiring him in a trade amounts to a ship that has long sailed.

It's true Queen will be a free agent in 2027, and he has been a big disappointment in Pittsburgh since signing in 2024. However, the Steelers don't have a natural replacement on the roster, so they really have no choice but to keep him.

A trade of Queen was a much more realistic scenario during the offseason, when Pittsburgh had time to find a replacement.

If anything, the Steelers will be buying at the trade deadline, not selling, so Queen isn't going anywhere.

Do the Cowboys need a linebacker?

Not currently, no.

The Cowboys are in good shape with the trio of Jaishawn Barham, DeMarvion Overshown and Dee Winters, and even Shemar James has begun to emerge, and so much so the Cowboys have him sporting the green dot after making a change in Week 7.

As long as that group stays healthy, the Cowboys should be in good enough shape to stand pat at the position.

However, as we've seen, health isn't guaranteed for the Cowboys' linebackers. Overshown has missed five games due to injury and has been injury-prone throughout his career, and Winters is now banged-up and missed last week's game.

If health continues to be an issue at the position, we could see the Cowboys springing for a linebacker trade. But, until Dallas finds itself in a precarious spot, Jerry Jones has bigger fish to fry.

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