The Ringer’s Robert Mays published a piece this week discussing the most realistic blockbuster type trades which could go down in the NFL this summer.
And, as tends to be the case, there were Dallas Cowboys all over his list.
Mays named both cornerback Byron Jones and right tackle La’el Collins as players which could potentially be on the move prior to the season starting.
The reasoning? (You’ve probably heard) the Cowboys have a lot of players to pay these next two offseasons, both Collins and Jones being on the list, and they have a good amount of talent at their position groups already.
“Dallas is slated to have about $75 million in cap space in 2020, according to Over The Cap, but that number is a bit misleading. A new contract for Dak Prescott is imminent, and even if the Cowboys manage to keep his cap figure relatively low in the deal’s first year, he will probably still cost at least $15 million against the cap next season. Combine that with the fact that Jones, Collins, and linebacker Jaylon Smith all have deals that expire this year, and Dallas’s robust cap space starts to shrink quickly.”
The reasoning makes logical sense, though I don’t see the trades actually happening. The Cowboys are going for it this year, looking to win their sixth Super Bowl and first in over two decades. Whether or not it’ll happen is, of course, up in the air, but their roster is good enough to make you believe they have a real shot at contending. Trading away one, or two, of their returning starters would likely take them farther from their ultimate goal in 2019.
Robert Mays also put the Cowboys in discussions to trade with the Raiders again, this time for safety Karl Joseph.
“Dallas signed George Iloka this spring to bolster its safety depth, but the position remains the biggest weakness on an otherwise strong roster. Dallas has more than $19 million in cap space, so it would have no issue taking on Joseph’s relatively modest deal. Players selected by a departed GM are often excellent trade targets, and it seems like the Cowboys could land Joseph for the right price.”
Now this is a deal I could get behind.
Dallas still likely has a hole at safety, though there is reason to be hopeful about the prospects for George Iloka in 2019. If by the middle of the season Dallas is still looking for a suitable starter and upgrade over Jeff Heath, maybe they’ll toss a day two or three pick at the Raiders and see if they can snag Karl Joseph.
Trading with the Raiders in 2018 worked out pretty well, after all.
