The state of the Dallas Cowboys secondary took a serious hit on Thursday when two back-to-back moves sent ripples all through the confines of Cowboys Nation. First, there was Brandon Carr agreeing to terms with the Baltimore Ravens. Shortly after that, word began to surface that Morris Claiborne is essentially going to be a member of the New York Jets. With a lack of cornerbacks on their roster, should the Dallas Cowboys consider trading for one? Namely… Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman?
Report: Seahawks open to trading Sherman https://t.co/k5SB4xm3CG
Let's all immediately recognize that the response to the departures of Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne is to not do anything we'll regret later. That being said, the notion of Richard Sherman wearing a Dallas Cowboys uniform is one that made me scratch my chin. Sherman's career resume is one that any soon-to-be-29-year-old NFL cornerback would be proud of. He's a 4-Time Pro Bowler, 3-Time First-Team All-Pro, and has 32 career interceptions in 108 career games (including playoffs).
It's not rocket science or football mastery to understand that Richard Sherman is a better cornerback than both Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. Sherman actually carries an identical trait to Carr in that neither has missed a game across their entire careers, something Morris Claiborne can only claim when he's up for a new contract.
Now for what it's worth, Richard Sherman is due over $22M across the next two seasons… which is an enormous amount of money to pay an NFL cornerback. The Cowboys do have some cap relief headed their way in 2018 – not to mention a hopeful boatload of compensatory picks – but it may be too tricky to make the money work regarding Richard Sherman.
What would it take to persuade Seattle to part with a player that's been so much of their defensive identity across their little dynasty? Surely it would take something significant, and the Cowboys don't really have a whole lot to give. Their biggest supposed trade piece, Tony Romo, can't seem to garner a return offer worth giving him up, plus it's not like the Seahawks are in the market for quarterback help. Any chance at prying away Sherman would certainly include a high-level draft pick leaving the Cowboys.
Ever since Morris Claiborne – irony is awesome – we've seen that the Cowboys really don't like parting with those big-time draft selections. Say it were to cost somewhere around a 2nd Round choice and potentially swapping spots in the 3rd (a hypothetical value), it wouldn't really be worth it for the Cowboys. The 2017 NFL Draft Class is one littered with depth at the cornerback position, and that selection can be used on a much younger player with a far larger window, granted he obviously wouldn't be as good as Sherman is today.
The fact that Seattle is even willing to part with Sherman is interesting and perhaps enough to raise caution on its own. Throughout 2016 Richard Sherman dealt with an ankle injury and perhaps the Seahawks think that's an indication of his potential durability moving forward. We've seen the Cowboys begin the purging process at the cornerback position by moving on from Carr and Claiborne, the last thing we need is a step backwards. Trading away assets in a draft that will help you fix this problem is a step backwards. So in summation, no thanks Seattle… unless you drop your price down of course.
