The Dallas Cowboys spent lots of time this offseason pumping up their newly renovated defense.
An embarrassing 28-20 loss to the New York Giants in Week 1 showed that all that talk was just that — talk.
Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox proposed a trade that might fix some of the Cowboys’ woes, suggesting they swap a conditional 2027 3rd-round pick in exchange for Cleveland Browns cornerback Tyson Campbell.
“No one expected the Browns to be particularly good in 2026,” Knox wrote on September 16. “If Week 1 is an accurate indication, though, Cleveland is even worse than everyone thought. Deshaun Watson continues to look like a quarterback who can’t get it done. Both Todd Monken and defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg appear to be in over their heads. The Browns should be looking to chase 2027 draft capital in their pursuit of a quality quarterback. Starting corner Tyson Campbell could potentially bring some. He started 12 games for Cleveland last season and allowed an opposing passer rating of just 84.8 in coverage. Campbell is also just 26 years old and under contract through 2028. With an annual salary of $19.1 million, he’s on the pricier side, but he should interest contenders who need a cornerback.”
Tyson Campbell Landed Massive Contract With Jags
Campbell, 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, starred at the University of Georgia for 3 seasons before leaving school early to enter the NFL Draft. He cemented his draft stock by running the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds at Georgia’s Pro Day.
The Jacksonville Jaguars drafted Campbell in the 2nd round (No. 33 overall) in the 2021 NFL Draft. He became a plug-and-play starter. He signed a massive, 4-year, $76.5 million contract extension before the 2024 season — a deal that will bring his career earnings to approximately $86.5 million.
The Jaguars traded Campbell to the Jaguars 5 games into the 2025 regular season in exchange for cornerback Greg Newsome and swapping Day 3 picks as well.
Cowboys Don’t Have Answers at Cornerback
In recent years, the Cowboys have shown little acuity at identifying and retaining talent at outside cornerback — in the last 3 years they’ve spent approximately $187 million on contracts for cornerbacks Trevon Diggs and Daron Bland and watched both of them fall of the map in terms of their level of play.
Campbell, even though he’s expensive, might be a better option than making another long-term commitment to a cornerback like a trade-and-sign for disgruntled Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr.
“Based on EPA/drive, the Cowboys had the worst defensive performance by any team in Week 1,” The Ringer’s Sheil Kapadia wrote on X on September 13. “t was worse than all but one of their defensive games last year. Among 574 games since the start of last season, it ranked 571st. 7 possessions: 4 TDs, 1 punt, 1 fumble, ran clock out.”
Dallas Cowboys Trade Pitch Lands $86 Million AFC CB