Michael Irvin summed it up pretty well on Monday when he was stopped by a TMZ cameraman and asked about the current state of the Dallas Cowboys.
“He’s not feeling well right now,” the former Cowboys wide receiver said. “The only hope the Cowboys really have at this point is if there’s some movement before the trade deadline. … They’ve got to do something. Not now.”
With Sunday night’s 30-24 loss in San Francisco, the Cowboys fell to 3-4 and ranked 13th out of 16 teams in the NFC standings. The next four games will all be against teams with a winning record.
Making a move before the Nov. 5 trade deadline could give the Cowboys a much-needed boost. However, that seems highly unlikely.
Dallas’ current plan is to rely on young players to step up and build momentum with the return of injured players like Micah Parsons, Daron Brand, DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks and Marshawn Nyland. The problem is, by the time all that happens, the Cowboys could be in too big of a hole. And there is no guarantee that other notable players will not get injured in the future.
The Cowboys are eager to have Micah Parsons back, who had just one sack in the first four games before missing the past three games with an ankle injury. (Andrew Deeb/Imagine Images)
“We’re going to do business as usual,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sunday night on the team’s pregame show, 105.3 The Fan, when asked about the trade deadline. “We have a lot of good players who are going to be back in the next three or four weeks, and we know that’s an important part. Nobody wants to hear about the business side, but the salary That’s what the cap is. Obviously we made some tough decisions in the offseason, so we’re looking for young players to help us out. But if the right deal comes along automatically, we’ll be there. I will definitely consider that.”
According to Over The Cap, the Cowboys have $20.5 million in salary cap space for 2024. That’s the seventh-highest number in the NFL. However, the Cowboys have no plans to acquire players with high-profile contracts, and have consistently pointed to the huge contracts they recently signed with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, saying they plan to sign Parsons.
Other teams with tight salary cap space, such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, have also made moves recently. The Chiefs traded a 2026 sixth-round pick to the New England Patriots on Monday in exchange for edge rusher Josh Uche. On Tuesday, the Ravens traded Diontae Johnson and the Panthers’ sixth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for a fifth-round pick.
According to BetMGM, the Chiefs currently have the best odds (+400) for the Super Bowl. The Ravens (+650) are second. The Cowboys are tied for 16th at +6,600.
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The Cowboys probably won’t make any notable trades in the next few days, but let’s say they were going to be buyers. Which upgrades will have the biggest impact?
It’s not as easy as you think. Parsons brought up the topic with Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs on Parson’s The Edge podcast on Monday. Neither position or player name was mentioned.
Of the top five biggest needs, two positions that immediately emerge were the two that weren’t adequately addressed in the offseason: running back and defensive tackle.
1.Running back
The addition of a running back like Cleveland’s Nick Chubb was recently mentioned by The Athletic’s Mike Jones and Jeff Howe. They discussed the possibility of the Cowboys acquiring Chubb in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick and a 2025 sixth-round pick.
An argument can be made that fixing the run game would have the biggest impact on the team. When healthy, Chubb is one of the best backs in the league. He threw for over 5,300 yards and 40 touchdowns from 2019 to 2022. But it’s very hard to believe the Cowboys are going to trade that pick for a running back when they don’t value the position enough to make the first pick. They took a fifth round pick in either of the last two drafts because they knew Tony Pollard would likely leave in free agency. Dallas’ offensive line issues are so severe that one could argue that even a healthy Chubb won’t be able to have the same impact as he has in the past.
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2. Upgrades for defensive tackles
An upgrade at defensive tackle would go a long way to helping what is probably the NFL’s worst run defense, but that’s highly unlikely. Osa Odighizuwa is the highest-ranked defensive tackle in Dallas by Pro Football Focus, coming in at No. 71. Another problem here is that quality defensive tackles don’t come cheap. A Cowboys team that needs as many draft picks as possible to fill out a future roster built around Prescott, Lamb, and Parsons will likely use a top pick to acquire a game-changer in the middle of the defensive line. I will never let go of it.
3. Offensive line help
The Cowboys appear focused on making it work this season with Terrence Steele at right tackle and first-round pick Tyler Guyton at left tackle. Steele ranks 53rd in tackles per PFF. Guyton is 64th. Rookie Cooper Beebe is the No. 23 center. Among guards, Tyler Smith is ranked 14th and Zach Martin is ranked 34th. The offensive line likely won’t see any new additions until the offseason.
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4. Pass catcher
Prescott and Lamb are close to where they need to be, but the passing game isn’t getting enough production from the other pass catchers. Cooks’ knee injury clearly hasn’t helped. Jalen Tolbert is Dallas’ No. 2 receiver. He ranks No. 57 among wide receivers on PFF. Jake Ferguson remains the top option for the tight end group. He ranks 44th among tight ends in PFF. He finished 10th last season and 24th in his rookie year. Lamb ranks third among NFL pass catchers with 613 receiving yards, but Dallas has no other player in the top 50.
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5. Safety
The play was so bad that defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer refused to evaluate the team with reporters on Monday. Donovan Wilson is the team’s highest-ranked safety at No. 65 by PFF. There was a time not so long ago when no team invested in safeties as much as the Cowboys. We need to do more to improve our standing again. But like the other spots mentioned here, it probably won’t happen until the offseason.
(Top photo of Nick Chubb: Jason Miller/Getty Images)
