Why the Dallas Cowboys stood pat while Super Bowl rivals got better at trade deadline
When it came to time improve their team for the stretch run the Dallas Cowboys stood pat, just as owner Jerry Jones said they would.
“I see us right now having a pat hand,” Jones said just a few hours before trade deadline expired on Tuesday.
The Cowboys (5-2) did just that, unlike the Seattle Seahawks (5-2), Philadelphia Eagles (7-1), Detroit Lions (6-2) and San Francisco 49ers (5-3) — their biggest competitors in the NFC for the Super Bowl, who all made at least one move before the deadline to upgrade their team.
The Eagles acquired safety Pro Bowl safety Kevin safety Byard from the Tennessee Titans for safety Terrell Edmunds and 2024 fifth and sixth round draft picks.
The Seahawks got defensive tackle Leonard Williams from the New York Giants for a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round selection .
The Lions are sent a 2025 sixth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
The Cowboys say they stood pat because they like their team. They are 5-2 with all their hopes and dreams for the season out there in front of them.
But it was also about the art of the deal for Jones and the Cowboys.
There were players that piqued the team’s interest, but the Cowboys didn’t have the will and/or the draft capital to make anything happen.
Consider that the Cowboys currently only have five picks in 2024 NFL Draft.
They have pick a pick in Rounds 1-3 and two in the Round 7.
The Cowboys have no picks in Rounds 4-6.
Remember the Cowboys traded the teams fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers in August for quarterback Trey Lance.
They traded their sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans as part of the deal to acquire receiver Brandon Cooks.
And the Cowboys traded their 2024 fifth-round draft pick to Kansas City Chiefs during last years draft for a sixth-round draft selection, in which they selected cornerback Eric Scott.
They stand to get get more when compensatory picks are dished out in the spring for 2023 free agent losses.
But this what the Cowboys have to deal with.
And with no picks in fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, the Cowboys were not likely going to part ways with their second or third round picks to get anything done.
It’s why Jones said any deals the Cowboys would consider would have to come to them. They were not going to initiate any calls.
So the Cowboys stood pat, while their biggest competitors got better.
Will that be enough to end the 28-year drought and get the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1995?
