Cowboys fans should stop freaking out over Deebo Samuel’s Twitter activity

The NFL world was lit up by the news that San Francisco 49ers star receiver, Deebo Samuel, has requested a trade and is looking for a new home. Samuel claims that money is not part of the reasoning, but the exact desire for a trade has not been reported yet. Regardless, the speculation about his future destination is already off and running. A multi-faceted talent like Samuel would be an asset to any NFL team. To no surprise, the Dallas Cowboys, like always, are in the thick of the speculation rumors.

The Cowboys are always a hot button name when any star player is in the market for a new home. They’re America’s Team. They are linked to anyone and everyone. What makes this a bit different is there is some foundation for the speculation.

For starters, Samuel shares the same agent as Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb. That connection is a bit of a reach as many players share the same agents. However, some digging work by Michael Gehlken added a whole other layer to the rumors. Gehlken saw that the most recently liked photo on Twitter by the Niners WR was a photo of him in a Cowboys uniform.

After requesting a trade from the 49ers, Deebo Samuel’s latest liked photo on Twitter is a picture of him in a Cowboys uniform

What does it mean that Deebo went out of his way to like the image of himself in a Cowboys uniform standing by CeeDee Lamb? That’s entirely up for debate. One could assume it is him showing interest in joining Lamb and the Cowboys. One could look at it and think it is his attempt to stir up a bidding war for himself and up his contract.

Personally, I think it is a bit of both. The 49er knows Dallas has a hole at receiver after trading away Amari Cooper. He also knows that the Cowboys’ quarterback situation with Dak Prescott is better than the 49ers’ current one. Lastly, history shows that a flashy receiver is the type of player the Cowboys have gone after before.

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone should get their hopes get up very high. Why? The answer to that is simple: Stephen Jones is in a decision-making role for the Cowboys. And after his babbling nonsense this offseason, Jones has shown zero capability to inspire confidence and hope that he would do something.

They claim the salary cap is restricting them. That line from front offices is nonsense in today’s NFL. As we’ve seen by the Los Angeles Rams and other teams, if an organization wants a guy, money is no object. They will make it work. Don’t fall for the lie of salary cap restrictions.

As you can see in my tweet below, Stephen Jones has gotten under my skin. In a recent interview, he said teams don’t win the Super Bowl in the offseason and then went on to say it takes a full body of work. I mean, we are going in circles here. You may not literally win a Super Bowl in the offseason, but making poor decisions in the offseason can help you lose it.

Deebo Samuel coming to the Cowboys is unrealistic, but for argument’s sake, what would it take?

Let’s say something wild happens and it becomes a reality that Dallas has a chance to get Samuel. What is he worth? In my eyes, you can’t give up pick 24 in the first round for a receiver. Hang onto that. But Deebo is definitely worth something. For context, Cooper was traded for a fifth-round pick and a swap of sixth-rounders. This would require much more.

I start with the second-round pick packaged with the fifth-rounder acquired in exchange for Cooper. That is an extra pick the Cowboys could leverage to immediately plug the vacancy. If it becomes a bidding war, the top-dollar offer should be the second and fifth-rounder with a swap of third-round picks. That improves the Niners’ third-round pick from 93rd to 88th in an effort to sweeten the pot.

The second-round pick may be a lot to some, but I am more open than most to trading draft picks. I think that teams and fans entirely overvalue draft picks. Top-10 picks are one thing, and even first-rounders. After that, a team should always be open to trading picks away for proven plug-and-play NFL talents versus the “what ifs” that could blossom or bust in the draft. In this instance, the Cowboys would trade a second-round pick in order to get a sure-fire top-5 receiver rather than hoping a draft pick pans out.

While it may be fun to get our hopes up and picture three-receiver sets with Deebo, Lamb, and Michael Gallup with Tony Pollard in the backfield, it is truly just a dream.

But that dream rests in the hands of the Cowboys front office who has been entirely reluctant to make big moves to improve the team, so it’s hard to believe that will change. Could they surprise us all and make a run at a top-five receiver in the market? Absolutely. But this feels like another situation in a long line of them where Dallas may just be linked to a player for clicks, bargaining tools, and leverage.