The Dallas Cowboys were reportedly interested in trading for Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair before he signed a three-year extension with Houston. Instead, the Cowboys traded a draft pick to acquire linebacker Dee Winters from the 49ers.
Azeez Al-Shaair isn't leaving the Houston Texans anytime soon.
According to reports, the Texans and Pro Bowl linebacker have agreed to a new three-year extension, keeping him in Houston through the 2029 season. Al-Shaair was entering the final year of his three-year, $33 million extension signed back in 2024.
But before the deal was done, rumors had circulated that the Texans could be looking to move Al-Shaair if the two sides couldn't get a deal done. According to both ESPN's Todd Archer and NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the Dallas Cowboys were the most interested in landing the 29-year-old standout, but nothing came of it, including an asking price on what they'd be willing to spend.
Instead, Dallas pivoted during the draft to trade pick No. 152 in the fifth round to land San Francisco 49ers standout Dee Winters. As a weakside linebacker with some experience up the middle, Winters, 5-foot-11 and 227 pounds, was a sixth-round pick of the Niners in 2023. He finished last season with 101 tackles and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown.
As for Al-Shaair, the contract now makes him the heart and soul for the Texans' defense during the prime years of the regime. Last season, he earned his first Pro Bowl nod after leading the franchise with 103 tackles.
The Cowboys expressed interest in Azeez Al-Shaair but did not finalize any trade before he signed an extension with the Texans.
Azeez Al-Shaair signed a new three-year contract extension with the Texans, keeping him with the team through the 2029 season.
Instead of trading for Al-Shaair, the Cowboys traded pick No. 152 to acquire linebacker Dee Winters from the San Francisco 49ers.
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Al-Shaair, a former undrafted free agent out of Florida Atlantic, turned into a full-time starter with the San Francisco 49ers under head coach DeMeco Ryans, also recorded a career-high eight pass breakups, two quarterback hits, one tackle for a loss, one interception and one fumble recovery.
As the man in command, Al-Shaair has been in charge of calling the defensive plays under coordinator Matt Burke, wearing the "green dot" on his helmet. With him up the middle, the Texans not only helped opponents to under 18 points per game, but the 277.2 yards per game marker ranked No. 1 overall, surpassing the fellow top-ranked Denver Broncos.
This article originally appeared on Texans Wire: Did the Cowboys try to trade for recently extended Texans LB Azeez Al-Shaair?