Getty The Cowboys Jalen Tolbert could be trade bait this offseason.
It could be a bit like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, but with the Dallas Cowboys and the upcoming offseason, every little bit will help. Not only will the team have to figure out its direction after yet another colossal postseason failure, but it will likely dole out very large new contracts to the very players implicated in the failure. With that in mind, the Cowboys are being advised by the contract experts at Spotrac to save about a million bucks while they can in a move that would see the Cowboys’ Jalen Tolbert traded.
Tolbert was the team’s third-round pick in 2022, and while there were points in the season that it appeared he might be ready to step into a No. 2 wide receiver’s role, he never consistently gained the trust of quarterback Dak Prescott and finished the year with 22 catches on 36 targets and 268 yards.
Tolbert had a Pro Football Focus grade of 56.5 this season, which was just 103rd out of 128 graded receivers.
According to Spotrac, the Cowboys desperately need to clear cap space, and moving Tolbert could help. In its list of “cap-clearing possibilities,” the site wrote: “Trade WR Jalen Tolbert, freeing up $943k of cap. Tolbert has shown glimpses of being able to handle a WR2 role, but the Cowboys aren’t in a position to wait around.”
CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott Need New Contracts
A trade of Tolbert would be part of the Cowboys’ attempts to corral a payroll that needs to be reined in as contract extensions for Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons loom.
As Spotrac’s Mike Ginnitti wrote: “It was a bit of a roller coaster at times, but the Cowboys secured another NFC East title with a strong finish down the stretch. There are some holes to fill in terms of free agency & a potential cap casualty or two, but this offseason will be largely about taking care of their own – notably QB Dak Prescott, WR CeeDee Lamb, & ED Micah Parsons. Dallas rolls into the offseason around $11 million in the hole in terms of Top 51 cap space.”
But then things got worse once the playoffs got underway, and the roller coaster continued with a massive plummet in the loss to Green Bay. The Cowboys are in a tough position, needing to reward players who have been among the best in the league in the regular season, even after monumental playoff flops.
Cowboys Jalen Tolbert Part of WR Shakeup?
It might not be fair for Tolbert to take the fall for the Cowboys’ failures, but after a rough rookie year in which he had the opportunity to show he was worthy of a third-round pick, he did not bounce back with the big season many hoped he would have. The Cowboys will keep Lamb, of course, but could be in for changes at receiver with neither Brandin Cooks nor Michael Gallup showing they’re top-shelf No. 2 receivers.
In fact, Spotrac is suggesting, too, that the Cowboys could designate Gallup for a June release.
“Either designate WR Michael Gallup a Post 6/1 release ($9.5M freed up after June 1st), or process a full base salary conversion, freeing up $5.9M when factoring in 2 void years,” the site wrote.
That, combined with moving Tolbert, will leave a hole for the Cowboys. But with the cap crunch they’re facing, there might not be much choice.