The trade market could be hot this year, as Cowboy fans have seen a few teams improve while the Cowboys wallow in mediocrity. Rumors will fly around like mosquitoes on a warm summer night, but will the Cowboys get involved?
Over the last several seasons, the Cowboys have not made any big trades, and if the team ever needed a big move, this is the year.
Will the front office make a move? The need is undeniable, but the nature of the move remains shrouded in uncertainty. It could be a surprise that defies expectations.
The fans want to bring in a superstar player or any player that can help win games. That may not be the case for this year’s Dallas Cowboys team.
This team is more than one or two moves away from being a legitimate threat in the playoffs. Hopefully, I am wrong, and the injured players can come back and breathe new life into the team.
It just doesn’t seem as though that will help.
With the many needs at several positions, the Cowboys could and should become sellers to get extra draft capital. Who could those players be to get sent packing for draft picks?
Trade a Defensive Tackle
As terrible as this defense is this year and as terrible as the defensive line has been, one player could get some pretty good draft capital.
Osa Odighizuwa is 26 years old and a good young player. Several contenders around the league could use help up front, and adding a defensive lineman who can get after the quarterback could give a jolt to an already good defense.
The Cowboys are not that good on defense, so having a player like Odighizuwa does not raise the needle for this team, but getting a draft pick or two for him could help fill other positions.
The best years of Odighizuwa’s career were with Dan Quinn. A trade between rivals does not happen often, but could the Cowboys squeeze some picks out of them for a familiar face for Coach Quinn?
It could be a possibility, but a trade outside the NFC East is more likely. The Steelers, who have the best defense in the league, could look to add some reinforcements to reinforce the defensive line.
Putting a player like Odighizuwa behind Cam Hayward could help keep Hayward fresh and bring some youth in who could learn from a Steelers legend.
A third and fifth-round pick would be a fair asking price.
A Mistake that Should Have Never Happened
Jerry Jones is known for taking risks, and a couple of times in his several years of ownership, he’s hit a home run with trades. Lately, however, there have been mistakes and terrible decision-making.
A terrible mistake was trading draft capital for Trey Lance. As every fan knows, the Cowboys traded a fourth-round pick for a third-string/emergency quarterback.
What a terrible idea to give up this type of draft capital for a player who would be no more than a backup to Dak Prescott.
The NFL is a quarterback-needy league, and several teams are feeling the pain of losing their starting quarterback to injury or experiencing lackluster play from the position.
One team comes to mind when thinking of landing spots for Trey Lance.
The first is the Las Vegas Raiders, who do not have good quarterback play. I like Gardner Minshew as much as the next guy, but giving Trey Lance starter snaps could turn into having the quarterback of the future.
Look at what Justin Fields did in Pittsburgh. He gave the Steelers a running quarterback who won games after being cast off from the Chicago Bears. Trey Lance could be that guy for the Raiders.
The team could get, at best, a fifth-round pick.
A Cowboys Legend Past His Prime
This one is going to hurt, but sometimes, the band-aid just has to be ripped off. The offensive line is terrible, and the team will not make the playoffs unless something incredible happens.
Trading Zack Martin would clear up cap space and get good draft capital.
The Dallas Cowboys legend is no different from Tyron Smith or letting go of Jason Witten. The time has come to let the man go to a team that is a lineman away from being great.
Zack Martin is 33 years old and is having a year that shows he is aging. The line around him is terrible, but that has not stopped him in the past.
This year has not been a good one for him up to this point. The Cowboys are a sinking ship and need all the draft picks and cap room they can get. This trade would help accomplish that goal.
If Zack Martin went on the trade block, the phones would start to ring off the hooks. The NFL knows what type of player Martin is and having better lineman around him would get him back to his normal consistent play.
A team like the Kansas City Chiefs would jump at the opportunity to upgrade one of the guard positions. Having Zack Martin next to Creed Humphreys would give the Chiefs one of the best lines in football.
With this trade, the Cowboys could get a third-round pick and possibly a couple more if the Chiefs feel the need to upgrade.
Right now, the Dallas Cowboys front office must make a decision: make a push for the playoffs and trade for talent, or start trading talent to build for the future.
In the next few days, we will see which road the Cowboys take but do not get excited. Seeing the moves this front office makes, fans probably know that nothing will happen.
That is the Cowboys way.