We are just 17 days from the NFL trade deadline, and while things have not gone quite to plan for the Dallas Cowboys through six weeks, the coaching staff and front office have expressed confidence that the team will get turned around, both offensively and defensively. The Cowboys have been off-kilter in the past two weeks offensively, struggling to run the ball and handle blitzes, but there is enough talent and smarts on the roster offensively to think they’ll get back to how they were playing early in the year.
But the defense remains a question mark, and a significant one at that. It was better against the Packers, but that’s a team with a ramshackle offensive line and no real ground game. There’s still plenty of reason to be concerned about whether the D can hold up. There’s also one big reason to go ahead and continue adding despite the Cowboys’ struggles. They are playing in the NFC East and are still the favorites to win the division.
Maybe a trade–that would be the third this season–can help fix things.
Tuli Tuipulotu a Cowboys Target?
With that in mind, the Cowboys have been named a landing spot for one of the top targets on the trade market, according to The Athletic. That would be Tuli Tuipulotu, the 24-year-old fourth-year edge rusher who already has a Pro Bowl selection in his young career.
On the site’s “NFL trade deadline big board,” writer Daniel Popper has Tuipulotu as the No. 5 target available.
He writes: “After an 0-6 start, the Chargers should be selling. Tuipulotu is a young, ascending and well-rounded edge rusher who is in the final year of his rookie contract. The Chargers and Tuipulotu engaged in extension negotiations in the offseason. The two sides could not come to terms on a deal. Tuipulotu took a big step as a player in 2025. He has sustained that performance this season. Since the start of 2025, Tuipulotu ranks 11th in pressure rate among players with at least 250 pass-rush snaps.”
The Chargers, indeed, are in a worse spot than the Cowboys. Tuipulotu would be an ideal fit.
Cowboys Named Ideal Trade Suitor for 24-Year-Old Pro Bowler