According to NFL insider Adam Schefter and others, the Cowboys were among teams inquiring about veteran receiver DeVante Parker before Miami ultimately traded him to New England. But while Dallas missed out on the longtime Dolphin, does their interest indicate that some other move at WR is coming before the 2022 NFL Draft?
Arguably the biggest offseason move for the Cowboys so far was trading away Amari Cooper for cap space and a paltry 5th-round pick from Cleveland. Cedrick Wilson’s also gone; one of the guys who will be replacing Parker in Miami next season.
But Dallas hasn’t left WR hanging, re-signing Michael Gallup to a long-term deal and adding free agent James Washington from Pittsburgh. They also re-signed longtime backup Noah Brown for depth. With CeeDee Lamb now clearly WR1 and second-year prospect Simi Fehoko coming back, this would be a relatively full depth chart for some teams.
Still, that hasn’t stopped many from speculating that the Cowboys will pursue a WR early in the upcoming draft. Given the reports that Gallup could miss the first quarter of the season with his recovery from last year’s torn ACL, Dallas can easily justify adding another significant asset to the current mix.
Based on yesterday’s nugget from Schefty, they may not even wait that long.
This revelation could mean that the Cowboys are in play to make another move for a veteran receiver in the coming weeks. If that’s indeed their goal, thankfully there are still many options out there.
Still waiting for their next contract in free agency are huge names like Odell Beckham Jr. and Julio Jones. Other notable WR free agents include Jarvis Landry, Sammy Watkins, Will Fuller, A.J. Green, and even Cole Beasley.
Elsewhere in the league, guys like DK Metcalf, Brandin Cooks, and A.J. Brown have had trade rumors swirling around them recently.
Two things we know about the 2022 Cowboys; they aren’t going to spend much in cap dollars or draft capital in this move. If they were interested in Parker then the meager swap of mid-round picks that led to his move between Miami and New England was apparently too rich for the Jones’ blood.
But the abundance of other veteran options was no doubt part of that equation as well. There are plenty of other ways for Dallas to address its WR need prior to the draft, and now we know more about their desire to do so.
We’ll see in the coming weeks if the Cowboys make a move on another veteran receiver as they reload for the upcoming season.