Getty Jerry Jones
Echoing his son, Cowboys VP Stephen Jones, team owner Jerry Jones confirmed — with a caveat — he does not expect to execute a(nother) trade prior to the 3 p.m. CT NFL deadline
“The way we’re structured, the way we do business, we can make decisions in a short order,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “If we do get an opportunity, we can make that call. I’m in the mood but (wouldn’t do it) if it negatively impacted our future.”
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Dallas has made two trade deals over the last week, sending defensive end Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions for a conditional 2021 sixth-round pick and acquiring defensive tackle Eli Ankou from the Houston Texans for a 2022 seventh-round choice. They’ve also released DT Dontari Poe and defensive back Daryl Worley as Jerry Jones vowed to “step in here and make adjustments” to the 2-6 Cowboys’ underachieving roster.
Despite three consecutive losses, the Joneses clearly remain in win-now mode, preferring to gear up for a possible playoff push rather than dismantle the foundation they painstakingly hand-assembled.
In his Monday radio interview, Stephen Jones indicated the team will take a passive approach to the deadline, with no blockbuster deals planned. Yet.
“We’re basically in a mode if something came to us and it made a lot of sense then we’ll look at it,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan.
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Jerry Won’t Trade Aldon, Gallup
There are not many untouchable players on the Cowboys, or on any NFL team, but Jones protected two particular building blocks on each side of the ball: outside linebacker Aldon Smith and wide receiver Michael Gallup.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Saturday the Seattle Seahawks contacted the Cowboys about Smith and were told he’s not available for trade — and in fact likelier to ink a contract extension. “He’s playing well, he’s generating pressure, and the Cowboys said, ‘We are not trading this guy. He is signed for this year.’ So likely a lucrative extension to stay in Dallas [is] coming for Aldon Smith,” Garafolo said.
Returning from a half-decade-spanning NFL suspension, Smith has been a rare bright spot for Dallas’ lowly defense. Through seven games, the former 49ers first-rounder has collected 35 tackles (22 solo), nine quarterback hits, and a team-leading five sacks across 409 snaps (72.91%). If the club manages to steal a Wild Card, or perhaps the division, his play will have been a major reason why.
“We’re in this to still fight. We’re in the NFC East. It’s obviously a division that is struggling right now,” Stephen Jones said Monday when asked about the Smith rumors, via the Dallas Morning News.
Speaking of the paper, beat writer Michael Gehlken first reported last week the Cowboys were uninterested in moving Gallup. His source’s retort “clearly closed the door on the notion, dismissing the possibility out of hand,” Gehlken wrote.
Gallup, a 2018 third-round draft pick, is still only 24 and under contract for peanuts — $750,000 this season and $920,000 in 2021, his walk year. He’s already proven at the NFL level and displayed tremendous chemistry with Prescott, particularly on deep balls. For all those reasons, but mostly financial, this “makes the Cowboys less inclined to move him,” Gehlken reported.
Gallup, who enjoyed a 1,100-yard breakout 2019 campaign, paced the Cowboys with seven catches for 61 yards in Sunday’s defeat at Philadelphia, on a night where the entire offense was hampered by rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci. He currently ranks second on the team, behind Amari Cooper, with 40 receptions for 524 yards and two touchdowns through eight games.
READ NEXT: Jerry Jones Speaks Out on Potential Blockbuster Cowboys Trade
Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL