Over the course of the past few days, rumors have been circulating around the Cowboys’ building on potential trades before Tuesday’s deadline. Numerous names were thrown around, especially at the wide receiver position. Names include Houston’s Brandin Cooks, Denver’s Jerry Jeudy, and Carolina’s D.J. Moore, among others.
Fans who have been following the team for years understand how this usually goes with Dallas. Many would call it “gaslighting.” It does not necessarily matter where the Cowboys are in the standings or how aggressive Cowboys’ Owner Jerry Jones makes himself out to be; they are generally complacent at the deadline. As can be imagined, this year was no different, leaving Cowboys fans confused and annoyed.
Dallas has two clear needs, one of which, the run defense, has presumably been addressed with the addition of DT Johnathan Hankins last week. A solid move, but still more work to be done. The other significant need was at wide receiver. Despite Dallas putting up their best offensive game of the year this past week against Chicago, this offense still ranks in the bottom ten of the league in total offense. Part of that can be attributed to the absence of QB Dak Prescott for five weeks, however, the offense still does not look nearly as explosive as what they were last season. Ceedee Lamb has been solid at best as the WR1, and the depth at the position is lacking. The moves Dallas made during the offseason at the position have been duds so far. That includes trading Amari Cooper to Cleveland for almost nothing, drafting WR Jalen Tolbert in the third round of this year’s draft, and signing WR James Washington from Pittsburgh, who has yet to play a game in a Dallas uniform.
With all of that being said, Dallas fans are left wondering why nothing was done even when Jerry Jones presumably teased a trade earlier in the day, displaying a sense of urgency to make a deal. The need is clearly there, and the roster looks ready to compete otherwise. The Cowboys boast one of the best defenses in the league with the most sacks and QB pressures in football. They are outperforming their preseason expectations, and with a much weaker NFC than in years past, Dallas has a legitimate shot at making a run, hence the frustration.
Reports had come out that the asking price for Jeudy was too high. Denver was set on getting at least a second-round pick for the young wideout, which the market clearly deemed to be too high. It is understandable that the price tag was rich for most teams since Jeudy is still underdeveloped and has yet to break out.
The most recent report from ESPN’s Ed Werder stated that the Cowboys and Texans were getting close to a deal for Cooks, however, Cooks’ $18 million contract fully guaranteed for next year made things difficult. Cooks, who has made it particularly known he wants out of Houston, was likely the most realistic target for Dallas, but the two teams could not come to an agreement on time.
There was a special sense of promise for this year’s deadline as the fanbase truly felt a deal was not only deserving but on the horizon. However, we seem to have gotten a taste of the same old Cowboys, being good with our guys.