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As the November 2 NFL trade deadline looms, the Dallas Cowboys could make a move to prepare for what the team hopes to be a long playoff run. CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker suggests a few trade proposal the Cowboys could consider making at the deadline. One hypothetical deal has the Cowboys trading starting corner Anthony Brown and a 2023 seventh-round pick for Bears defensive tackle Akiem Hicks.
“While it’s been rookies Quinton Bohanna and Osa Odighizuwa who have kept the wheels from falling off on the defensive interior, the bottom line is the Cowboys need reinforcements, and pronto,” Walker detailed. “Enter Hicks, who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2022 and, if the Bears are truly not looking to extend him, it’s a chance for them to get something in return before he potentially walks next offseason. This would be a bigger contractual ask of the Cowboys, who’d have to eat roughly $6.73M in remaining salary for 2021, and they’d have to massage their books to make it happen, so offering up Anthony Brown helps.”
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Brown Could be Expendable Thanks to Wright & Joseph
Brown started the season as an unpopular player among Cowboys fans, but the corner has improved as the year has progressed. The Cowboys corner has earned a respectable 74.9 grade from Pro Football Focus for his play so far this season. Walker believes Brown is expendable with the emergence of Nashon Wright along with rookie Kelvin Joseph getting healthy.
“With the looming debut of Kelvin Joseph and a talented upstart in fellow rookie Nahshon Wright working to be the long-term answer opposite record-setting cornerback Trevon Diggs, the Cowboys can afford to move on from Brown and gain $4.25 million in savings via trade, money that would cover nearly 63% of the incoming hit from acquiring Hicks,” Walker added. “For the Bears, they’d get a veteran who already has more interceptions than anyone on their defensive unit, and one that’s under contract until 2023 whiile being due only $5 million in 2022 salary. That means both teams can walk away from this one wearing a sizable grin.”
Jones: Cowboys Are ‘Highly Unlikely’ to Make a Trade for a Pass Rusher
It remains to be seen if the Cowboys will make a move at the deadline, but owner Jerry Jones indicated if the team makes a trade it will not be to address the defensive line. Jones described the Cowboys acquiring a pass rusher by the deadline as “highly unlikely.”
“With our rush and our players, we’re happy with what’s on the way with [Dexter] Lawrence as an example [and Dorance] Armstrong, and we’re happy with the young guys that are on the way,” Jones noted during an October 29 interview with Dallas’ 105.3 the Fan. “And so, it’s highly unlikely that we would add to the pressure you mentioned.”
Hicks made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and finished last season with 49 tackles, 21 quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks for the Bears. The veteran has been one of the top NFL defensive tackles during his ten seasons. Hicks is in the final season of a four-year, $48 million contract and has a $10.4 million salary in 2021.
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