De'Monderick Winters (born October 17, 2000) is an American professional football linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the TCU Horned Frogs.
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Early life
Winters was born on October 17, 2000, and grew up in Burton, Texas, a small town west of Houston that had only one gas station. He played football at Burton High School and was a two-way player, although he was primarily used at wide receiver. A three-star recruit, he ranked as the 87th-best player in the state and committed to TCU over Arkansas, Northwestern, Arizona State and Texas Tech.
College career
Although recruited as a safety, Winters' position was quickly changed to linebacker when he arrived at TCU. As a true freshman, he appeared in 11 games, two of which he started, and posted 28 tackles and a sack. The following year, he won the starting job, started all 10 matches and placed second on the team with 65 tackles, 9.5 of which were for a loss. He remained a starter in 2021, starting all 12 games and leading TCU with 74 tackles while being third on the team with five tackles-for-loss.
As a senior in 2022, Winters led a defense that brought TCU to the national championship game, earning first-team All-Big 12 Conference honors after tallying 79 tackles, the fourth-best on the squad, a team-leading 14.5 tackles-for-lossp (tied with Dylan Horton), and 7.5 sacks, placing second on the team. He was named most valuable player of their playoff semifinals win over Michigan after recording seven tackles, three of which were for a loss, a pass breakup and a 29-yard interception return touchdown. After the season, he was invited to the Senior Bowl. At the time of his graduation, Winters was the career leader in stops among active TCU players.
Professional career
San Francisco 49ers
Winters was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round (216th overall) of the 2023 NFL draft. He appeared in 15 games for the 49ers during his rookie campaign, defending one pass and logging 10 combined tackles.
Winters again appeared in 15 games (including 10 starts) for San Francisco during the 2024 season, posting four passes defended and 44 combined tackles. Winters started all 17 games for the 49ers in 2025, recording one interception, five passes defended, and 101 combined tackles.
Dallas Cowboys
On April 24, 2026, Winters was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in exchange for a fifth-round pick.