Jerry Jones proved he isn’t afraid to pull off midseason blockbusters after stealing Joey Porter Jr. from the Pittsburgh Steelers, but Dallas isn’t done swinging just yet.
With the secondary getting an instant upgrade, analysts and insiders are urging the Cowboys front office to strike while the iron is hot and go all-in on Cardinals Pro Bowl pass-rusher Josh Sweat.
Jerry Jones openly admitted he remains open to making moves that help the Cowboys right now, and landing a $76 million proven game-wrecker would turn a shaky defense into a genuine contender.
Josh Sweat to Cowboys Just ‘Makes Sense’
Even ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler agrees, saying the Cowboys have another move in them, and one for Sweat makes the most sense.
“The Cowboys might have one more move in them,” Fowler writes. “Perhaps that’s shortsighted, given their 2-4 record. But that might as well be 4-4 in this season’s NFC East climate, where no commodity is proven, and Philly’s transitional state has cracked the door open.”
“As one team exec pointed out to me Tuesday, Josh Sweat to Dallas makes a lot of sense. He fits Dallas’ profile, and the Cowboys need edge-rush help. Sweat’s Cardinals won Sunday, but they are not contention-adjacent just yet.”
Proven pass-rush help is tough to find, and Sweat is the biggest name on the trade block. Right after the Cardinals pulled off a blockbuster trade for Marvin Harrison Jr., Sweat has been the hottest name coming from the Cardinals locker room since.
With their QB Jacoby Brissett playing on a one-year rental, and QB Carson Beck still down with an injury, the Cardinals might want to get all the draft capital they can get before the deadline. Perhaps that’s what forced them to pull the trigger on the Harrison Jr. trade.
If the Cowboys call them with an offer they can’t resist, the Cardinals have no business holding onto a veteran. Especially when he has a chance to lead another team to the postseason.
Do the Cowboys Have Draft Capital To Entice the Cardinals?
They might not have the best draft capital, but ESPN’s Dan Graziano points out how they desperately need to improve pass rush, no matter what.
“Due to prior trades, Dallas has only four picks in next year’s draft and is without its second-round pick in 2028, which could make deadline dealing difficult,” Graziano writes.
“But the Cowboys have been uncharacteristically aggressive over the past 12 months, and they’re right in the thick of the division race in spite of how poorly they’ve played so far. They need edge-rush help, as you pointed out, and outside of the defensive tackles, it’s an extremely young defense that might benefit from a Super Bowl-winning veteran such as Sweat. The Cowboys always seem to do something this time of year, though it’s possible the Joey Porter Jr. trade was their very early big in-season move.”
It isn’t usual for a 4-loss team to lock a playoff berth, but the invested capital in Porter Jr. and also Sweat, if they decide to make the call, can pay dividends soon.
The only thing that Jones needs to look out for, if he wants to make a call to the Arizona front office, is that he needs to do it before other teams come to them with a better offer.
Cowboys Urged to Finalzize Cardinals Pro Bowl Pass-Rusher After Joey Porter Jr. Trade