It feels like an annual tradition to speculate about Trysten Hill’s future with the Dallas Cowboys. Hill has been unable to live up to the expectations that accompanied him as a second-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft.
The defensive lineman is heading into the final season of his four-year, $4.86 million rookie deal but finds himself on the roster bubble going into training camp. ESPN’s Todd Archer predicts that the Cowboys will release Hill in favor of Quinton Bohanna. Archer added that Hill could also be utilized by the Cowboys as “trade material.”
“The Cowboys believe the trio of Armstrong, Fowler and Williams will be enough to replace the production of Randy Gregory, who signed with the Denver Broncos,” Archer wrote on June 21, 2022. “A healthy Lawrence is a great boost to the defense, while Gallimore and Odighizuwa can be active in the middle. The final spot came down to Trysten Hill, a second-round pick in 2019, and Bohanna. The edge went to Bohanna for his size (6-foot-4, 360 pounds), but he will be pushed by Ridgeway at the nose tackle spot. Does it make sense to keep two nose tackles? Perhaps Hill could be trade material later in the summer.”
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Could the Cowboys Find a Trade for Hill?
Hill’s trade value is unclear as the defensive tackle has only played in a total of 18 games during his first three NFL seasons, finding it challenging to land consistent snaps. Heavy.com’s Evan Reier suggested a potential swap of underperforming young players with the Patriots landing Hill in exchange for receiver N’Keal Harry.
The ideal scenario for the Cowboys would be to find a team willing to take a chance on the former high draft pick. Dallas could hope to land a future late-round pick from a team willing to give Hill a fresh start.
The Cowboys Could Move on From Zeke in 2023
Another player whose future remains a question is Ezekiel Elliott as the star running back has five seasons remaining on his six-year, $90 million contract. Elliott is expected to be the Cowboys starting running back in 2022, but Dallas could look to move on from the playmaker next offseason. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio predicts the Cowboys will release Elliott next offseason, re-sign Tony Pollard and select a running back in the 2023 draft.
“I think he’s out,” Florio explained on a June 17 episode of “Pro Football Talk.” “I think he’s out after this year. I think he’s out after this year, and the money that they would give to him is going to Tony Pollard and then they’ll draft somebody.
“They had no qualms about saying goodbye to DeMarco Murray. His reward for setting the franchise single-season rushing record was, ‘See you later. We’re not interested.’ And they would have already said that to Ezekiel Elliott if they didn’t have a contract structure that forced them to keep him around. And it’s amazing for a team that prides itself on being very shrewd, very shrewd when it comes to contract negotiations, they got the short end of it with Ezekiel Elliott and with Dak Prescott by delaying and assuming that they could just throw an arm around the guy and talk him into doing a hometown discount.”
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Cowboys Predicted to Cut Former Highly-Touted Draft Pick