Dallas Cowboys should not react to Michael Bennett trade
The Dallas Cowboys have no need to feel pressured by the trade of Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett to the Philadelphia Eagles.
With free agency closing in fast there’s already panic buttons being pushed by Dallas Cowboys fans, and for really no good reason.
The Seattle Seahawks, who represented the NFC in two Super Bowls during the previous five seasons, are officially coming apart given constant rumors surrounding the departure of Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas – and, of course, Wednesday’s trade of Michael Bennett to the defending world champion Philadelphia Eagles.
Yawn.
This deal is not what it may sound like. The devil is in the details.
Let’s remember that Seattle failed to make the playoffs last season, along with the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, it was a Christmas Eve loss to the Seahawks that ended the Cowboys’ slim playoff chances at AT&T Stadium.
But it wasn’t long ago that those same ‘Hawks were the class of the NFC. I distinctly recall Dallas marching up to the Emerald City and beating Seattle the year after head coach Pete Carroll’s bullies dismantled the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII – the Seahawks could have easily won Super Bowl XLIX that same year.
But times have changed and that ‘Legion of Boom’ simply got older. Joining players like Sherman and Thomas is certainly Bennett.
Michael Bennett is 32-years old and the cost involved in acquiring him from the Seahawks didn’t exactly cost the Eagles an arm and a leg. Further, given other defensive line concerns that Philly already has, it’s far from certain that the Eagles took a big step forward, if they even took one at all.
The Dallas Cowboys have been criticized for not making enough moves during a 2017 campaign which was all but doomed from the start. Were they supposed to make a trade for Jay Ajayi before the Eagles did?
C’mon.
The foundation for the Dallas Cowboys is just as good as the one possessed by the Eagles – yes, I’m serious. The difference in ’17 – and let’s remember that the Cowboys were 13-3 in 2016 – was that the Cowboys were far from full strength at every point in the season, but the Eagles weren’t.
Don’t get me wrong, the Eagles had a tremendous season despite losing their franchise quarterback late in the season and nothing can take that away. They should rightfully be the odds-on favorite to win the NFC East in 2018, although we know that championships really aren’t won in the month of March or April.
Next: Cowboys 2018 Post-Combine 7 Round Mock Draft 2.0
The Dallas Cowboys will be aggressive this offseason, but it’s not a bad thing that this aggression does not include giving up assets or salary cap space to aging veterans who are in obvious decline.