Cowboys Hint at Free Agent Signing After Disappointing Trade Deadline

Getty Images Odell Beckham Jr.

The Dallas Cowboys didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline but it doesn’t mean they’re done adding players.

The Cowboys were quiet at the trade deadline. They sniffed around Texans wide receiver Brandin Cooks but Houston was asking for a lot and the sides weren’t able to get a deal done before the deadline.

“There were some situations where we thought it could help our team and be good for us,” Cowboys Executive Vice President Stephen Jones said, per the Cowboys’ official site. “It felt like maybe things were coming our way, but we’re very pleased with our team.”

The Cowboys have every right to be satisfied at this point in the year. Dallas is 6-2 and was able to win games by riding their stellar defense with QB Dak Prescott out for five weeks.

However, if the Cowboys plan on building on their credentials as a Super Bowl contender, making an impactful move — particularly at wide receiver — would help their cause.

Odell Beckham Key Free Agent Target for Cowboys

While they didn’t shake up the roster via trade, Jones teased that they could still be in the mix for players that are — or become — available via free agency.

“We can continue to look for ways to make our team better and we will,” he said. “[Trades] aren’t the only way you acquire players.”

The most obvious available target who could make an impact for the Cowboys is Odell Beckham Jr., who remains a free agent as he rehabs from a torn ACL he suffered in the Super Bowl while with the Los Angeles Rams. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made it very clear that he’s a fan of Beckham’s work.

“He made the greatest catch I’ve seen, other than the one Dez (Bryant) made for the touchdown against Green Bay,” Jones said to 105.3 The Fan in Dallas recently. “Bottom line is, Odell is a player that I admire a lot.”

Beckham was inconsistent and banged up while with the Cleveland Browns but showed that he can be a productive player in the right system while playing with the Rams. After signing midseason with the Rams, he caught 48 passes for 593 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games, including four postseason contests.

Cowboys Looking Forward to Return of James Washington

There’s also a player currently under contract in Dallas who could make a difference in James Washington, who suffered a foot fracture in camp and has yet to play this season.

“We have some guys at certain positions that are going to be available to come off the IR designated to return list that can help us,” Stephen Jones said. “In particular James Washington, who’s a veteran in this league… And then you never know what other opportunities might arise out there.”

Washington signed with the Cowboys this offseason after spending the first four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He set career highs in 2019 when he caught 44 passes for 735 yards and three touchdowns.

However, his production has waned over the last two seasons. Washington caught just 24 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns last season with the Steelers. It still remains to be seen what he can bring playing alongside CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup in the Cowboys offense but is expected to provide a nice boost to the passing game.