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Although the Dallas Cowboys are shaping up as sellers at the NFL trade deadline, Michael Gallup is one commodity they purportedly are “not willing” to part with.
Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News was given a “short but straightforward response” by a team official when asked this week about trading the third-year wide receiver ahead of Tuesday’s deadline. His source’s retort “clearly closed the door on the notion, dismissing the possibility out of hand,” Gehlken wrote.
“If they were to deal a top receiver, he wouldn’t be the logical choice,” he added.
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This idea took root after Gallup was held to zero catches on two targets last week at Washington, his lowest output across three NFL seasons. He’s fallen well short of expectations following a 2019 breakout in which Gallup produced 1,107 yards and six touchdowns on 66 catches (113 targets), a fixture in the Cowboys’ top-ranked passing attack. He’s topped 100 yards only once in 2020, with 19.5 yards per reception and one TD on 19 grabs.
But the brain trust, Gehlken says, owes his sagging stat lines to the loss of franchise quarterback Dak Prescott and presence of fellow WRs Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb.
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.
The Cowboys should sooner think about extending Gallup than breaking up the Big Three they just assembled to the delight of thrill-seeking owner/general manager Jerry Jones.
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Defensive Roster Purge Ongoing
The Cowboys have left the offense mostly untouched in the wake of their 2-5 start, despite Prescott’s absence, backup quarterback Andy Dalton’s concussion, and an injury-ravaged line.
Jones instead has taken a blowtorch to the defense, sending Pro Bowl pass-rusher Everson Griffen to the Detroit Lions for a conditional 2021 sixth-round selection and releasing nose tackle Dontari Poe and defensive back Daryl Worley.
“You make mistakes. You move on,” Jones told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Wednesday evening. “We’re moving on, but by no means are we giving up.”
Jones said previously he’s more likely to acquire a player by Tuesday’s 3 p.m. CT trade deadline. One must figure, based on this modus operandi and his promise of roster turnover, the Cowboys’ czar sooner reinforces the historically bad unit than his ailing — yet slowly recovering — offense.
“The facts are that fundamentally, we’re not stopping the run and when you don’t do that, then a lot of other things come in behind that as to what you are lacking. But we got to correct this,” Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “We got to correct it. We’ll change some personnel for sure. We just to step in here and make adjustments. That’s what you do.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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