When free agency hits every March, there’s always excitement in the NFL due to all of the player acquisition that goes on. However, that also happens in November when the trade deadline approaches and teams make moves to put themselves in a better position to compete once the playoffs approach.
This is true for most organizations in the league, but not the Dallas Cowboys. Regardless of whatever situations they may have when it comes to their roster, the Cowboys are usually a very quiet team as far as making trades that would significantly upgrade their personnel. Dallas is in a tight spot this season with all of the injuries that have occurred, especially at edge rusher, where their top four guys are out with one being gone for the season. So, surely the Cowboys will break tradition and make some sort of move, right? Well, don’t count on it.
Just before the Cowboys took on the San Francisco 49ers last Sunday, Stephen Jones made it clear that Dallas would operate as they always do, and that’s without adding any significant names.
We’ll do business as usual. We’ve got a lot of good players that are going to be coming back over the next three or four weeks. We also know that’s an important part of this. I know no one likes to hear about the business side of it, but the salary cap is what it is. Obviously we made some tough decisions in the offseason, so we’re looking for younger guys who can help. But if the right deal pops itself up, then we’ll certainly look at that.
That was a nice way for Stephen Jones to dress it up and give fans some hope. However, what he meant is pretty clear. If there is any player added to the Cowboys by November 5th, don’t expect it to be an impact guy that will require any kind of big financial responsibility on the part of Dallas. Instead, it will be someone who will undoubtedly help fill the roster but won’t take the team to another level due to their talent.
It’s been happening for quite some time, but it’s still frustrating to see. The Cowboys currently have the seventh most cap space in the NFL at $21 million. Simply sitting on their hands and plugging in holes with one-year rentals isn’t going to elevate the Cowboys in any way. What’s even more maddening is watching other teams make the necessary moves to assist in building a competitive roster.
For example, the Cowboys need another wide receiver. Yet, veterans Davante Adams, Amari Cooper, and DeAndre Hopkins were all traded to new teams right under the Cowboys noses. As mentioned earlier, Dallas needs help at edge rusher, but they didn’t even try to add anyone with some juice from another team’s practice squad and there likely won’t be a trade. The Kansas City Chiefs, who got the aforementioned Hopkins, also traded for edge rusher Josh Uche. So, even the undefeated two-time defending Super Bowl champions are doing what they have to in order to get better.
The unwillingness to put the Cowboys in the best position from a talent acquisition is mind-blowing, especially when the teams that are having great success are giving them the blueprint to prosper. No matter the situation, every team should be of the mindset that getting as many impactful players is the way to go. When it comes to the Cowboys, it’s simply doing just enough to get by, which is the worst way to go about putting a team together.
