The past several years the Dallas Cowboys have been an active participant before the NFL trade deadline as both buyers and sellers. With the 2019 trade deadline set to expire on October 29 at 4 PM ET, it will be interesting to see if they make any moves this year. Will they be buyers, sellers, or decide to stand pat?
Jerry Jones is pretty well-known for wheeling and dealing when he believes it’s an opportunity to upgrade the team. Look no further than what he pulled off last year by acquiring Amari Cooper via trade from the Oakland Raiders. A blockbuster move like that though is highly unlikely. JJ himself even admitted as much here recently.
“It’s probably not in the same universe as the likelihood that we would do something like Amari or frankly anything close to that,” owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday, via The Athletic.
I wouldn’t take the big blockbuster trade off the table just yet, although it does seem unlikely. It’s much more feasible to believe the Cowboys make smaller moves like they’ve done when acquiring Tavon Austin and Jamize Olawale or trading away Ryan Switzer. Even that though might be too much to ask. They could decide to just stick with status quo and finish the season with their current roster.
Buyers or sellers? Let’s take a look at a few moves the Dallas Cowboys could make. You know… Just for the fun of it.
Sellers
There will probably no shortage of teams calling the Dallas Cowboys to inquire about this player or that due to the talent the Cowboys have on the roster. That doesn’t mean Dallas is willing to trade away any of their current players though. In fact, I can only think of a handful they might be willing to part ways with.
Here are my most likely candidates:
CB Anthony Brown – I think it’s highly unlikely the Cowboys want to part ways with AB, but that won’t stop them from listening to offers. Brown is still basically a starter as the nickel CB, but Dallas does have a more than adequate replacement in Jourdan Lewis. Combine that with the fact No. 30 is in the last year of his contract and it makes a little sense, even if it does hurt the CB depth a little.
OL Joe Looney – If the Cowboys were to trade away a player the most likely candidate could be Joe Looney. He filled in rather well in 2018 during Travis Frederick’s absence, which could entice a team to put in a call to the Cowboys. Starting caliber offensive lineman are hard to come by, especially ones capable of playing any position on the interior of the OL. With rookie OL Connor McGovern being a candidate to return from IR, Looney could become expendable.
OG Xavier Su’a Filo – XSF split time at left guard with Connor Williams last year for the Cowboys and played well enough to keep the job until an injury allowed Williams to step back in as a starter. Like Looney, he could become expendable as well if Connor McGovern returns from IR. Again, his starting experience could entice a team to put in a call to the Cowboys.
Buyers
I think if the Dallas Cowboys make any move before the 2019 trade deadline it will more than likely be as buyers. I’m not completely ruling out a blockbuster trade like they pulled off with Amari Cooper last year, but I do think it’s unlikely. Those kind of moves are rare due to the amount of compensation (draft picks, money) it typically takes. But smaller, more sensible trades are definitely a possibility.
A player a lot of Cowboys fans would love to acquire is Cincinnati Bengals DT Geno Atkins. He would absolutely upgrade the Cowboys DL, but his age and salary probably prevents this from happening. Dallas has the cap space now, but they still have to pay Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, making this probably nothing more than a pipe dream.
There are however a few trades I think are a little more realistic though. The Cowboys could work again with the Miami Dolphins and try to acquire Safety Reshad Jones. He would more than likely upgrade the safety position. Jones’ age and salary aren’t ideal, but he probably wouldn’t be that expensive to acquire.
A player I’d personally love to see the Dallas Cowboys trade for is Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE O.J. Howard. He’s pretty much become an afterthought in Bruce Arian’s offense, which could make him expendable. He would definitely be an upgrade at the position for the Cowboys. They could get 2 1/2 seasons out of him if they exercise his fifth-year option as a former first-round pick before deciding his feature with the organization.
