{"id":32731,"date":"2025-09-15T14:41:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-15T14:41:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32731"},"modified":"2025-09-15T14:41:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T14:41:54","slug":"breaking-proposed-trade-has-cowboys-send-13-million-20-game-starter-to-lions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32731","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING: Proposed Trade Has Cowboys Send $13 Million 20-Game Starter to Lions"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2235391414-e1757944244457.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2235391414-e1757944244457.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2235391414-e1757944244457.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2235391414-e1757944244457.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Proposed Trade Has Cowboys Send $13 Million 20-Game Starter to Lions\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p><em>Getty NFL rumors are heating up about the Dallas Cowboys potentially trading Mazi Smith.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Dallas Cowboys face a decision about the future of a former first-round pick. For the second straight week, Mazi Smith was among the team\u2019s inactive players during the team\u2019s win over the New York Giants.<\/p>\n<p>It might be time for the Cowboys to explore a change of scenery for Smith, but it is hard to imagine the former first rounder has a sizable trade market. Bleacher Report\u2019s Kristopher Knox has Smith among his top 10 players on the NFL trade block.<\/p>\n<p>The analyst labels the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers as the top landing spots for Smith. Let\u2019s explore what a potential Cowboys-Lions trade could look like for the former No. 26 pick in the 2023 NFL draft.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Rumors: Could the Lions Be a Trade Partner for Mazi Smith?<\/h2>\n<p>Bleacher Report estimates that Smith\u2019s trade value is a 2026 conditional sixth-round pick. Given these projections, a hypothetical trade pitch has the Cowboys net a sixth rounder while the Lions acquire Smith.<\/p>\n<p>Detroit would be banking on the idea that Smith still has upside that could be unlocked by a change of scenery. Smith is just one season removed from starting all 17 games for Dallas in 2024. It would be a low-risk move for Detroit.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2025-09\/68470df0-91c4-11f0-97ff-3c545af8ca6f\" alt=\"Mock trade sees Dallas Cowboys unload first-round bust in deal with Detroit  Lions - Yahoo Sports\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith Kenny Clark now manning the middle of their defense, the Cowboys appear to have little interest in letting Smith learn on the field,\u201d Knox wrote in a September 10, 2025, story titled, \u201c2025 NFL Trade Block Big Board Entering Week 2.\u201d \u201cThis means he can probably be had for pennies on the dollar.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSmith was viewed as a raw prospect coming out of college and was always expected to need time to develop. He\u2019s still a 6\u20193\u2033, 337-pound former first-round pick with a tremendous amount of untapped potential. A change of scenery might be required for him to reach it,\u201d Knox added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Dallas doesn\u2019t want to be patient with him, it\u2019ll likely take any reasonable offer it can get.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>The Cowboys Want to See Consistency From Mazi Smith for the Former 1st Rounder to Earn Snaps<\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-1627025962-e1757510830246.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all\" alt=\"Cowboys 1st-Rd Bust Mazi Smith Named Top NFL Trade Candidate - Heavy Sports\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Smith\u2019s four-year, $13.2 million rookie contract is slated to run through 2026. The addition of Kenny Clark may make Smith\u2019s days in Dallas numbered, but it remains to be seen if the Cowboys can get anything in return for the defensive tackle.<\/p>\n<p>Had Smith panned out as expected, acquiring a defensive tackle for Micah Parsons would not have been as much of a priority for the Cowboys front office. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus pointed to consistency as Smith\u2019s main issue that is keeping him from getting snaps.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust consistency,\u201d Eberflus said of Smith, per The Athletic\u2019s Jon Machota. \u201cHe\u2019s done that, just at a more consistent level. That\u2019s really it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s been our message to him throughout the building. He\u2019s improving on that, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Mazi Smith on Lack of Playing Time With Cowboys: \u2018I\u2019m Just Trying to Do What\u2019s Best for the Team\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>Putting Smith alongside Lions star pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson could only help the former highly touted prospect\u2019s production. Smith is attempting to maintain a positive attitude despite falling out of the Cowboys rotation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m just trying to do what\u2019s best for the team and listen to my coaches and do exactly what they say, whether I\u2019m playing or not,\u201d Smith noted, per The Dallas Morning News\u2019 Calvin Watkins.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions could be potential trade partners. Find out why NFL rumors are swirling about a former first-round pick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING: Proposed Trade Has Cowboys Send $13 Million 20-Game Starter to Lions - Breaking News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=32731\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"BREAKING: Proposed Trade Has Cowboys Send $13 Million 20-Game Starter to Lions - Breaking News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions could be potential trade partners. 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