Did the Dallas Cowboys truly miss out on Jamal Adams?

With the star safety often rumored to be tied to the Dallas Cowboys landing in Seattle, did Dallas miss out or dodge a bullet?

Over the past two offseasons, one of the most talked-about NFL rumors has been safety Jamal Adams finding his way onto the Dallas Cowboys. I’m pretty sure every single day over the last 700 or so someone on Cowboys’ Twitter has brought up this possibility.

Of course, it’s not just fans being hopeful. Several Dallas Cowboys writers along with the national media have either reported or pushed this idea over this time span. Even the player, himself, has thrown it out there a time or two.

Saturday afternoon, that dream officially died. The New York Jets, decidedly tired of the distraction, moved on from Adams. The disgruntled safety was shipped off to Seattle along with a fourth-round pick in 2022 in exchange for safety Bradley McDougald, two first-round selections (2021 & 2022), and a third-round pick in 2021. This according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Prepare yourselves for an abundance of virtual egg-throwing in the direction of the Dallas Cowboys front office. Undoubtedly, this will be used against the Joneses. It will be the latest example of an inability or unwillingness to improve a position that has desperately needed an upgrade since Darren Woodson retired in 2004.

Here’s the thing though. While I’m all for placing blame at the feet of those who deserve said blame, in this particular case, the Dallas Cowboys were right to pass on such a move.

First and foremost, two first-round draft picks is a huge price to pay for anyone, especially someone who plays the safety position. Last season, another highly-touted safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick, talked his way out off a historically bad AFC East team (see a trend?) for far less.

Fitzpatrick, along with a fourth and seventh-round pick, went from Miami to Pittsburgh for a first, fifth, and sixth-round pick. Is Adams any better than Fitzpatrick? That’s highly debatable either way, to be honest.

Prior to Fitzpatrick, the apple of Cowboys Nation’s eye was former University of Texas star Earl Thomas. You remember this one, right? Thomas held out all of training camp and the preseason. The Dallas Cowboys infamously “lowballed” the Seahawks, offering “just” a second-round pick. Thomas played four games in Seattle, broke his leg, and became a Raven the following offseason for four years and $55 million.

You see, there is often more of a price to pay than just draft picks when dealing with these stars who no longer want to stay where they are unhappy. Fitzpatrick and Adams will both be free agents after 2021. Both are going to command deals likely greater than the one Thomas received from Baltimore.

Because of these facts, the Dallas Cowboys simply cannot afford to get into these high stakes poker games, regardless of how much we hope they do. The simple truth is that the Dallas Cowboys have other areas their money must go or has gone. The other honest assessment is that no team should really pay these prices at the safety position.

If you really want to be mad at the Joneses for not getting something done, be mad that quarterback Dak Prescott is playing on a $31.4 million franchise tag instead of a long-term deal. Signing Prescott to a long-term deal has been a no-brainer for over a year, yet here we are, staring down the barrel of a likely double tag which will be almost $40 million in 2021.

Those cap numbers are excessive when you realize they could be far lower if the Joneses would have just made the right move many moons ago. Think about the new deal Patrick Mahomes just received. Even though he signed a ten-year deal worth $450 million, his cap numbers in 2020 and 2021 will be just $5.3 and $24.8 million respectively.

In fact, even if you count his 2022 cap number, it will still cost Kansas City almost $10 million less for three years of Mahomes than it will cost Dallas for two years of Dak. Oh, and then there is the whole, “disrespect” angle which is a whole other discussion.

Regarding the position specifically, there is not one single safety in the league that is capable of changing a game. Sure, there are some very talented players at the spot. None of them are of the ilk that a Troy Polamalu or Ed Reed brought to the spot.

In fact, if you look at the top ten highest-paid safeties, most of them have already played for multiple teams and only Thomas, Tyrann Mathieu, and Malcolm Jenkins have won a Super Bowl. Only Thomas was crucial to that result. Only Thomas is a sure-to-be Hall of Famer at this moment.

Did the Dallas Cowboys “miss out” on Jamal Adams? The answer is no. No safety is worth two first-round draft picks and $16 million per season. This is especially true when you cannot seem to get your franchise quarterback locked into place.

Adams would have been nice, as would have Fitzpatrick, Thomas, or any other big name, top-notch safety. Maybe one of these years, the Dallas Cowboys will get to drafting theirs. Until then, continue to enjoy being used as a toy for other players to use in order to get what they are wanting which is off whatever current team they reside.