Cowboys Urged to Make ‘Big Swing’ Trade for $100 Million Pro Bowler

Mike McCarthy

Getty The Dallas Cowboys season ended in disappointment.

The Dallas Cowboys offseason is in full swing, and one name to at least monitor in Big D is Los Angeles Rams star cornerback Jalen Ramey. With the Rams a projected $16.5 million over the cap, Ramsey is a player being mentioned in trade rumors, an idea enhanced with the star’s cryptic social media post where the corner appeared to send a goodbye message to Los Angeles.

Ramsey has been linked to the Cowboys dating back to the 2016 NFL draft when many analysts predicted Dallas would select the former Florida State star. Ultimately, Dallas opted to select Ezekiel Elliott over Ramsey, but Sports Illustrated’s Mike Fisher reported that the Cowboys front office had the “tags touching” for the two players on their draft board. Fisher ponders whether Dallas could consider making a “big swing” by trading for Ramsey, a player they have long admired.

“So Ramsey is not worth the pair of first-round picks he was traded for in 2019 from the Jaguars,” Fisher wrote on January 27, 2023. “In fact, the trade price might actually be cheap if the Rams simply want out.

“Could Dallas massage the salary? Would Dallas change it’s general policy of avoiding big-money ‘outside free agents’? The Rams took a big swing and Ramsey helped them to a Super Bowl. Maybe ‘big swings’ are what the almost-good Cowboys are lacking.”


What Would the Cowboys Have to Trade the Rams to Land Jalen Ramsey?

The question remains what the Cowboys would need to give up to land Ramsey via trade. Would Dallas moving the No. 26 draft pick be enough to trade for Ramsey? The Washington Post’s Jason La Canfora reported that the Rams are not expected to get “anywhere near the compensation that their fans might expect.”

“It’s a matter of when Rams star cornerback Jalen Ramsey and Arizona Cardinals star wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins are traded, not if,” La Canfora wrote on January 18. “And the GMs I have spoken to don’t believe those teams will get anywhere near the compensation that their fans might expect.”

Ramsey still has an additional three seasons remaining on his five-year, $100 million contract and is slated to have an $17 million base salary for 2023. Dallas is an estimated $9.8 million over the salary cap heading into the offseason and would need to get creative if they have a chance to land Ramsey.


Jalen Ramsey in 2022: Playing for Cowboys Would Have Been a ‘Dream Come True’

The Cowboys already have Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland as their potential young cornerback duo for the future. A move for Ramsey would signal that Dallas is willing to move on from Diggs rather than sign the corner to a lucrative contract extension. Diggs is heading into the final season of his four-year, $6.3 million rookie contract and has a $4.3 million salary for 2023. The extension talks are sure to heat up in the coming months, and Spotrac projects the star corner’s market value to be a four-year, $61.8 million deal.

During a March 29, 2022 interview with “The Pivot Podcast,” Ramsey, who grew up a Cowboys fan, revealed that Dallas told the corner they would draft him if he was available at No. 4. The star corner admitted that it would have been a “real dream come true” for him to wear a star on his helmet. Time will tell if Dallas can pry Ramsey away from Los Angeles.

“I always grew up a Dallas Cowboys fan, really like [the] Titans and Cowboys,” Ramsey said at the time. “So, if I go four, man, that’s like for real [a] dream come true. And I remember when I was on my visit to Dallas, they told me like straight up to my face, ‘If you there at four, we taking you.’

“It was like, ‘We don’t think you’re gonna be there at four.’ They said, ‘We think they’re gonna get you at three, but if you there at four, if you on that board we taking you.’ And I thought word was bond. I’m like, I’m gone then if I’m there at four, I’m there [Dallas].”