Cowboys trade history takes hit after Commanders move

The recent Dallas Cowboys trade history has looked bad for years. In just the last few seasons, they’ve traded two fourth-round picks for Trey Lance and Jonathan Mingo and sent away Amari Cooper for an appallingly low return.

Aside from the Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore trades, it has been a comedy of errors from the Cowboys’ front office.

Their trading block slump has struck at a very bad time as well. With salary cap troubles and a lack of draft capital, their failure to improve the team or their drafting prospects has hurt the roster in a major way.

Players the Cowboys have traded a 4th round pick for, for some reason:

- Jonathan Mingo
- Trey Lance https://t.co/sETxTqkLfB
— Sam Sherman (@Sherman_FFB) November 5, 2024

On Saturday, light was shed on this problem once more, as the Washington Commanders struck a deal that you can’t help but compare to past moves from Dallas.

Let’s take a look at the deal between San Francisco and Washington and how it compares to the Cooper to Cleveland deal the Cowboys made in 2022.

Deebo To DC: The 49ers and Commanders Trade

In a departure from a franchise staple, the 49ers and John Lynch sent Deebo Samuel to Washington in exchange for a 2025 5th round pick.

Samuel, a former All-Pro, saw a significant decrease in production this past season. In 15 games, he caught just 51 out of 81 targets for 670 receiving yards, and only three touchdowns. It was his career-low year in receiving success rate by over 7%.

In addition, he has just turned 29, has battled injuries in the past, and will cost Washington over $17M this season.

In Deebo Samuel trade, 49ers save and Commanders acquire:

$1.17m base salary
$15.4m option bonus
$750k total per-game roster bonus
$200k workout bonus

$17.5m total savings for SF
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) March 2, 2025

Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s too early to say Samuel has nothing left in the tank. However, the 5th round compensation is fair when you consider these problems and what the NFL trade market has looked like in recent years.

This is a move that makes sense for both teams, with Samuel wanting out of San Francisco and the organization moving in a new direction, and Washington being WR-needy with money to burn.

The problem for Dallas is simple math: the 49ers got more for a more expensive, older, and less-talented Samuel than the Cowboys got for Cooper in 2022.

Cleveland’s Cooper Heist: The Browns and Cowboys Trade

Dallas traded Cooper, and swapped a 2022 6th round pick, to get a 2022 5th round pick. The two higher picks they acquired were spent on Devin Harper and Matt Waletzko; the pair played a combined 14 games for the Cowboys.

To nobody’s surprise, Cooper rebounded in his first season with Cleveland, as he eclipsed a career high in receiving yards and yards per reception.

The Cowboys trade of Cooper marked a moment in the team’s recent history, as wide receiver went from a top strength to a nagging need immediately.

CeeDee Lamb’s current competition for targets at the WR position are Jalen Tolbert, Noah Brown and Simi Fehoko.

WR1 overall potential. pic.twitter.com/jwu0fNTzeJ
— Theo Gremminger (@TheOGfantasy) August 11, 2022

CeeDee Lamb has taken off since then, but the depth behind him has been a mixture of veterans and young players that can’t touch the talent level Amari Cooper brought to the table. They lost out on having the best wide receiver duo in the league.

Despite only playing two full years with the Browns, it’s clear who won that trade.

No matter what you think of Deebo Samuel, it is simply hard to imagine him putting up the kind of performance Cooper did in his inaugural season.

So, how in the world did the Cowboys not get more than the 49ers did?

The Bottom Line: Dallas’ Front Office Failures

When you measure the trades side by side, you cannot make the argument that this wasn’t a Cowboys front office failure. If you start to then include the other moves made by Dallas in recent years, you start to see an ugly trend.

The Cowboys trade, free agency, and re-sign history has been increasingly detrimental to the team’s success.

Whether it be the Cooper, Lance, or Mingo trade or staying out of free agency entirely, the product on the field is being held back by the off-field circus.

San Francisco, and even Washington, are far ahead of Dallas when in the front office department.