Heading into Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline, Dallas Cowboys honcho Jerry Jones had two main reasons for why he was not expecting there to be a whole lot of activity at The Star. One was because he thought, with the acquisition of star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. in October, and the addition of lineman Broderick Jones before that in September, the Cowboys had already done enough trading for one autumn. The other was that he had not much been able to find other teams that matched up well for what the Cowboys wanted to do, personnel-wise.
Jones, in the days leading up to the deadline, kept the window open for a deal, but was realistic in his pessimism that something could happen.
“No,” he said on Sunday during the Cowboys pregame show, “but that doesn’t mean something could not happen. Actually, you almost have to say that if anything could be considered or working, you really don’t know until—if it is substantive, for sure—you don’t have any idea that it could happen until you have a meeting of the minds and it is done. But for now, I don’t see it.”
Cowboys Have Only 4 Draft Picks in 2027
The Porter trade is certainly a good starting point for why the Cowboys declined to make a trade to bolster the roster on Tuesday. But the Cowboys did desperately need help at both edge rusher and running back, and could have swung a trade, even with the limited draft capital–a first-rounder, a second-rounder, a fourth-rounder and a seventh-rounder–on hand in 2027.
But one thing that Jones probably would not say out loud is that the Cowboys, at 4-5 and showing cracks all over the roster, are just not a team worthy of further investment. Better to ride it out and hope for improvement than to push hard, give up more picks, and see that no improvement is coming.
Jerry Jones ‘Disappointed’ in Front Office?
That was the view of longtime former Cowboys scout Bryan Broaddus, who now analyzes the team in Dallas media.
He said, on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday, that Jones is likely not happy with the advice he took this offseason: “I think Jerry has come to the realization that his team isn’t any good. And I don’t think he really wanted to trade, to try—because I think Jerry is also disappointed that, he can look at himself in the mirror, his own self and be disappointed. But I think he is really disappointed and he understands, I think, where the defense is at.
“He also is coming to the realization that there are people who told him it was going to be this way, or, hey, if we bring this in and do this or do this. I think there are a lot of these guys, the lieutenants and stuff, who tell him stuff, and I think he is disappointed him them.”
Cowboys Had Depressing Reason for NFL Trade Deadline Silence