Cowboys Turned Down Intriguing Trade for New Starter: Report

Getty The Cowboys are still looking for a new kicker.

The Dallas Cowboys passed on an opportunity to land a new kicker as the team continues to show more patience than most fans regarding a position that was the biggest source of stress to close out last season. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, the Cowboys not only declined to pursue the recently released Brandon McManus, but the Jaguars also attempted to deal kicker Riley Patterson to Dallas. The Cowboys did not appear too eager to make a move, and the Jacksonville ultimately traded Patterson to Detroit for an “undisclosed draft pick.”

“[The Cowboys] never really got into the discussion with Brandon McManus after he was released by the Denver Broncos,” Archer wrote on May 31, 2023. “After signing McManus, the Jacksonville Jaguars reached out to the Cowboys about a potential trade for Riley Patterson, according to a source. He was eventually dealt to the Detroit Lions.”

To recap, Dallas has passed on drafting a kicker, not been aggressive in signing a veteran free agent and chose not to trade for an available player like Patterson. Tristan Vizcaino is the lone kicker on the Cowboys roster as Brett Maher remains a free agent.

Patterson hit 85.7% of his kicks during the 2022 season, down from the 92.9% success rate he had during his rookie year in 2021. The kicker was remarkably consistent at extra points making 36-of-37 attempts in 2022.

John Fassel on Cowboys’ Next Move: ‘Just Being Patient & Deciding Who That Second Guy Is We’re Going to Bring in’

Dallas has hinted that an additional move is coming to create a training camp competition at kicker. Yet, the Cowboys have exercised a great deal of patience in making a signing. Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel pointed to Robbie Gould, Ryan Succop and Mason Crosby as some of the available veteran kickers who Dallas could pursue.

“Let’s face it, there’s Mason [Crosby]. There’s Robbie [Gould]. There’s [Ryan] Succop,” Fassel told reporters on May 13. “There’s a lot of guys that have performed at a good level in the NFL and you weigh that against everything else.

“So, there’s really no secrets of who’s available. I think the good thing for us [at] the kicker spot is just being patient and deciding who that second guy is we’re going to bring in. Whether it’s now or in training camp to compete against Tristan [Vizcaino] and that might not be the end of it either, like we saw last year. The two guys we had in OTAs and training camp weren’t the guys. So, I think it’s an ongoing process that we’ve got to make a decision [on] before Week 1.”

Jerry Jones: Cowboys Will Be ‘Looking at More of a Veteran Kicker’

The Cowboys explored drafting a kicker but Jake Moody was selected in the third round by the 49ers with Chad Ryland going off the board in the fourth. This clearly was earlier than Dallas expected, and owner Jerry Jones left the door open for Maher’s return but this remains an unlikely option.

“We get one [a kicker] that’s more likely to have the yips or whatever,” Jones joked during an April 29 press conference. “No, we’ll be looking at more of a veteran kicker.

“…[On re-signing Maher] That’s probably getting a little too into our strategies there a little bit. And obviously we want to come up with the best solution that we can there, but we didn’t get the kicker opportunity that we thought we might get in the draft. And we had other priorities when we had a chance to get it we took somebody else, obviously.”