Though Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones tried to sell his fan base on trading away superstar defensive end Micah Parsons as a good thing for the franchise long-term, the stats would suggest otherwise.
Four games into the season, the Cowboys are dead last in total defense (420.5 yards allowed per game), they rank 31st in scoring defense (33 points allowed per game), and only three teams — the Carolina Panthers (two), Baltimore Ravens (four) and Tennessee Titans (four) — have fewer sacks than they do (five).
Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark, who Dallas got back plus two first-round picks in exchange for Parsons, was supposed to be a force along the defensive line, but he’s totaled just 12 tackles, one sack, and one tackle for loss in four games.
Defensive end James Houston, who the Cowboys took a free-agent flier on in July, leads the team with two sacks, and Marshawn Kneeland, Dallas’ second-round pick last year, has the team’s only other sack.
With disappointing performance after disappointing performance, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox believes the Cowboys should look to the trade market to infuse some life back into their defense and find a suitable Parsons replacement.
Knox recently floated Dallas as a potential landing spot for Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson, who led the NFL with 17.5 sacks last season and was second the year before that, also with 17.5 sacks.
“The Cincinnati Bengals may believe they can tread water until Joe Burrow is ready to return from toe surgery, but there’s no guarantee he will return in 2025,” Knox wrote. “… Any (Burrow) return would likely hinge on Cincinnati being a contender. Monday’s blowout loss would suggest it isn’t.
“… Even with Burrow behind center, Cincinnati probably can’t overcome a suspect defense enough to make a deep playoff run. Therefore, it would make sense to cash in pass-rusher Trey Hendrickson. Season-ending injuries to players like Nick Bosa and Marcus Davenport might help allow the Bengals to get something close to their asking price for the 30-year-old.
“They probably can’t expect (a first-rounder) now, but a desperate team may offer something close to it.”
While Hendrickson didn’t get the contract extension he was hoping for as he held out during the offseason, the Bengals did give him a nice $14 million raise that elevated his total salary to $30 million this season.
It’s unlikely Hendrickson re-signs with the team given the events of the summer, and if the Cowboys were to offer a second- and third-round pick to the Bengals, it just might be enough to pry him away.
