3 surprise Cowboys trade options that could tempt Jerry Jones

Heading into March, there are several unknowns about the Dallas Cowboys roster situation. Will the front office make cuts to non-free agents to save cap space? Which free agents will the Cowboys prioritize? Will Dallas finally make a big-deal signing in free agency? Jerry Jones and his crew have many decisions to make.

But if we know anything about Jones, it’s that he likes to make blockbuster decisions and get himself and his team in the news. The man always likes to make a splash. While the narrative for most of January and February has been that the Cowboys are stuck and will have to bid farewell to their biggest players due to their cap space, Jones is a man who can always be tempted.

Bleacher Report released a list of the NFL’s 9 biggest “trade pieces” for the 2022 offseason. The list, written by Kristopher Knox, contains players who have already been rumored for trades or can likely become potential trade options in the league. These are big-name players who could make an impact on any roster. So much so that Jones himself may be tempted to dip his toe in the trade pool.

Out of the nine options, three seem to make the most sense for the Cowboys. They all fill positional needs and could bring some fresh blood to Dallas.

3 players who Cowboys owner Jerry Jones could be tempted to trade for

3. Brandin Cooks, WR, Houston Texans

Wide receiver is one of the positions that happens to be very up in the air for Dallas right now. In free agency alone, the Cowboys have four receivers set to become unrestricted free agents. They are Malik Turner, Noah Brown, Cedrick Wilson, and Michael Gallup.

The last two names are definitely more integral pieces of the WR corps in Dallas. With Gallup predicted to make almost $12 million a year in his next contract (despite his ACL injury), even though the Joneses want to keep him, they may not financially be able to. Wilson was a phenomenal fill-in for injured receivers this year, and for that reason, he has earned himself a lucrative paycheck as well.

In addition to free agents they may lose, there have also been talks that the Joneses may cut star receiver Amari Cooper. This decision would strongly help the Cowboys cap space, but does seem to mostly be out of anger that Cooper didn’t perform as well as he should based on his pay raise before last season.

The point is, there is no way the Cowboys keep all five of these names, which means they need reinforcements at receiver. Houston Texans WR Brandin Cooks is a great option. Even on a brutal Texans team, Cooks recorded 62 receptions, 704 yards and three touchdowns. Initially, there were reports by Ian Rapoport that the Texans wouldn’t want to get rid of Cooks. However, the Texans are in desperate need of a quarterback — as well as many other integral pieces of their infrastructure.

The team could trade Cooks to get draft money or draft picks in order to secure a current or upcoming quarterback for their squad. At 28 years old, Cooks has many great years ahead of him and the Cowboys would be wise to add a solid receiver to the group. Bleacher Report predicts that Cooks could be traded to get a 2022 NFL Draft second-round pick, which the Cowboys may be willing to give up.