Cowboys Could Trade for Disgruntled $82 Million Star Receiver: Analyst

Getty The Cowboys could be an ideal landing spot for WR Mike Evans.

The Dallas Cowboys could be an ideal landing spot for a disgruntled star receiver.

As suggested by CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo, the Cowboys are among the “potential” fits for Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans. The 30-year-old receiver is entering the final year of his contract and is currently looking for a new contract. However, as his agent indicates, Evans has yet to receive a contract offer from the Buccaneers.

DeArdo argues that if Evans is traded before the Oct. 31 trade deadline, the Cowboys could be a landing spot due to Jerry Jones’ affinity for acquiring star players.

“Don’t put this past Jerry Jones, who loves star players as much as Taylor Swift loves sparkles,” writes DeArdo. “Besides, you can’t have too many good receivers, and with CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks already in tow, adding Evans would give the Cowboys one of the league’s top receiving corps.”

Cowboys Have Already Swung 3 Major Trades This Year

DeArdo does have a point when it comes to Jones’ tendency to acquire star players. In this year alone, he’s made three big trades for notable players such as Stephon Gilmore, Brandin Cooks and former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance.

All three are obviously big names, with Gilmore a former Defensive Player of the Year, Cooks being a former 1,000-yard receiver and Lance having served as the former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. However, Gilmore and Cooks are past their peaks while Lance has yet to hit his. Evans is in the thick of his prime, posting nine consecutive 1,000-yard seasons.

Although Evans posted a down year when it comes to touchdowns — his six touchdowns were his lowest single-season output since the 2017 season — his number of receptions and receiving yards remained consistent. Evans posted 77 receptions and 1,124 receiving yards last season. His number of receptions were his most since the 2018 season and his number of receiving yards were his most since the 2019 season.

According to Pro Football Focus, Evans posted a 74.0 offensive grade last season, the 23rd-highest among receivers with at least 100 targets. Among the Cowboys’ current receivers this season, only Lamb (86.3 offensive grade) posted a higher grade than Evans did last season.

Why the Cowboys Aren’t Likely to Trade for Mike Evans

While Evans would certainly represent a major upgrade over Cooks and Michael Gallup, the question is, would Dallas really acquire another starting-caliber receiver when they already have three on the roster?

Considering teams rarely line up in four-receiver sets, the Cowboys would either have to suffer an injury to one of their key receivers, or they would have to trade either Cooks or Gallup. When factoring in that Gallup has three years left on his deal after this season and his dead cap hit would be $18 million spread out over the next four seasons, that idea of trading him can be ruled out of the equation.

The Cowboys certainly have a lot of cap space — they have $17.7 million available, which is more than Evans’ $13 million salary — but the idea of Dallas acquiring Evans without a major injury to their receiving corps makes little sense.

Evans is certainly a name that could be moved by the trade deadline, it’s just hard to envision the Cowboys as being that team with the way their roster is currently constructed.