The Dallas Cowboys have no intention of being “buyers” at Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. But that hasn’t stopped marketing-minded team owner Jerry Jones from coyly hinting otherwise …
Which has helped feed uninformed media outlets’ attempts to connect Dallas with a superstar acquisition.
One such name that popped up late this week in media gossip? The just-off-rehab four-time Pro Bowler of the Cleveland Browns, running back Nick Chubb.
There is almost nothing that makes such a connect logical short of two facts: One, the Browns are going nowhere at 2-6, and two the Cowboys (who are 3-4 and might face the same non-playoff fate) have a running game that is going nowhere.
Rico Dowdle has emerged as the top running back for the Cowboys, even though he has just 246 yards and no touchdowns. Ezekiel Elliott has also gotten starts in the backfield, rushing for 149 yards with two touchdowns. And last week, in what we know to be at least in part a move of desperation, Dalvin Cook got a shot in Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but he failed to make an impact, having rushed six times for 12 total yards.
What did Jerry say to stir up ideas like this? “If I see something … we look for all the meat on the bone that can improve our team,” he said cryptically on Friday via 105.3 The Fan.
What is Cleveland saying as a response of sorts? Head coach Kevin Stefanski pointedly noted on Friday, “I named him a season-long captain with (injured) Deshaun (Watson) not out there.”
The Browns might be “sellers.” But until the Cowboys change their “Blow It Up” plan (a major remodeling project for 2025, meaning no additional assets used up in 2024) and become a “buyer”? This, and most ideas like it, is the figment of somebody’s football imagination.
