Let’s get this out of the way, and quick.

The Dallas Cowboys should not even think about trading wide receiver Jalen Tolbert after the career season he had in 2024.

Yet, Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport believes Dallas should make it a point to try:

“… the arrival of Pickens also makes Tolbert, who caught 49 passes for 610 yards and seven touchdowns in 2024, one of the more expendable players on the roster. Sure, Dallas isn’t exactly overflowing with depth at wide receiver. But it also makes sense for the Cowboys to try to get the ball into the hands of speedster KaVontae Turpin more in 2025.”

This Jalen Tolbert trade pitch already answers its own flawed logic

I appreciate the effort to try and make sense of a Tolbert trade, but the explanation simply doesn’t make sense.

To point out that Dallas “isn’t exactly overflowing with depth at wide receiver” is precisely why this team shouldn’t trade him. Without being disparaging, let’s just say that this reasoning is flawed.

That’s what it is. It’s flawed.

Why else did the Cowboys go out and trade for George Pickens recently? They needed help at the position, but just because they now have that help doesn’t mean they can immediately cut themselves thin once more.

That doesn’t make sense.

Sure, Tolbert is going into a contract year and, on one hand, it seems like a plausible idea to try and get something in return for him before he leaves via free agency. But, there is also a possibility the Cowboys get a compensatory pick when Tolbert signs elsewhere in 2026.

There is also a possibility the Pickens trade doesn’t work out, and do you know who else is in a contract year?

Pickens.

The Cowboys are not guaranteed to keep Pickens on a long-term basis, regardless of the fact they gave up draft capital to get him. After the 2025 season, Dallas is going to have decisions to make in that room, and taking away an option like Tolbert even before they come to that fork in the road seems like a total waste.