The Cowboys will enter the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday just hours after wrapping up their Week 9 game against the Cardinals on Monday night, and it’s possible that the outcome of that showing will have some influence on what, exactly, the team will do when it comes to trading away assets to bolster the roster.
Dallas is sitting at 3-4-1 entering the game, and certainly, 4-4-1 would feel much different than 3-5-1. The Cowboys have said the result of the game on Monday won’t change their approach at Tuesday’s deadline, but it’s impossible to think the standings won’t have some impact on what comes next.
That’s especially true with the glaring weakness the Cowboys have shown in the first half of the season. The offense can be a juggernaut–but the defense has shown the ability to make just about any other team in the league look like a juggernaut, too.
Cowboys Seeking a Defensive End/Pass-Rusher
With that in mind, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport said on Sunday that the Cowboys have a clear goal heading into the deadline: Get defensive help, especially at pass-rusher.
Said Rapoport: “We haven’t talked about the Cowboys enough because they play Monday night. But in advance of the trade deadline, every time he is asked, Jerry Jones talks about the possibility of the Cowboys making a big trade. Not like Micah Parsons, they did that this offseason but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cowboys trade for a pass-rusher. My understanding is they are in the market for a D-line or defensive end.
“A couple of names to keep an eye on: Bradley Chubb, the Dolphins veteran, Jaelan Phillips, another standout Dolphins edge rusher. Arden Key of the Tennessee Titans, too, among the names to keep an eye on for Dallas.”
NFL Trade Deadline Might Not Fix Issues
The loss of Parsons certainly left a gaping hole for the Cowboys, and the desire to fill that hole with more pass-rushers at the NFL trade deadline is understandable. But there should be some fear among Cowboys fans that doing so would be addressing the wrong problem–this team is woefully lacking in the secondary, while the pass-rushers have not been bad.
Indeed, the Dallas defense ranks No. 17 in pass-rushing efficiency, per Pro Football Focus. The secondary ranks No. 32 in coverage. It’s much more difficult to find plug-and-play cornerbacks on the trade market, but it would appear that should be the focus, even if the Cowboys already sank big-time contracts into corners Trevon Diggs (who is on the IR) and DaRon Bland.
Alas, according to Rapoport, it won’t.
Cowboys Problems Go Beyond NFL Trade Deadline
The bigger issue with the Cowboys defense has been an utter lack of continuity, of course. The team now has Matt Eberflus as the defensive coordinator, its third change at that spot in three years, after Mike Zimmer was there in 2024 and Dan Quinn before him.
“It’s not ideal,” said coach Brian Schottenheimer. “The biggest change was when [Quinn] left.
“It’s an adjustment, and what people don’t realize is whether you’re playing 3-4 [and] 5-1 with DQ, or [Zimmer’s] four-down, or [Eberflus’] four-down, they’re not the same systems, and they’re not built on the same things.”
It may be, then, that something deeper is at play and that no single trade-deadline move is going to fix this bunch.
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