NFL Rumors: AFC team shopping cheap WR alternative for Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys seem motivated to add another wide receiver this offseason to pair with CeeDee Lamb. The dream is the front office goes big-name hunting for studs like DeAndre Hopkins, Brandin Cooks, Odell Beckham, and even Stefon Diggs if he becomes available.

Of course, nothing is ever set in stone with the Cowboys. For better or worse, they’re incredibly predictable, and they more often than not avoid pulling the trigger on trades for stars or signing big-ticket free agents.

We saw this unfold with Bobby Wagner last offseason, and Brandin Cooks leading up to the 2022 trade deadline.

It’s why fans are so reluctant to get their hopes up.

But what if we told you that Dallas had a potential fallback option if their Hopkins, Cooks, Beckham, and Diggs dream goes unrealized?

The latest rumblings around the NFL indicate the Broncos are “quietly shopping” Courtland Sutton, per Matthew Berry of NBC Sports.

NFL Rumors: Should Cowboys trade for Broncos WR Courtland Sutton?

This isn’t the first time Sutton has been floated as a potential trade candidate, either. Last month, The Ringer’s Lindsay Jones pegged Sutton on The Athletic Football Podcast as a player who could get moved this offseason.

There’s definitely smoke here, and the Cowboys should at least monitor Sutton’s market in the event they swing and miss on the first-tier of available wideouts.

Don’t look now, but Sutton is younger and cheaper than all of the aforementioned wideouts. He’s also not as talented or accomplished as them, but his speciality as a deep threat (14.6 yards per catch in his career) is something Dallas’ passing game had no semblance of last season.

At the end of the day, Sutton has been durable and productive in his career despite navigating less-than-ideal QB situations. He has four seasons with over 700 receiving yards, culminating in a 1,112-yard, six-touchdown campaign in 2019 before he missed all but one game in 2020 with a torn ACL.

Outside of that, Sutton has played at least15 games in four seasons.

Getting back to his statistical output, those aren’t bad numbers given his QBs have ranged from Drew Lock, Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, Brandon Allen, Case Keenum, and 2022 Russell Wilson. Imagine him with Dak Prescott.

Even better? Sutton is under contract for the next three years, and his cap hits of $18.3 million, $17.3 million, and $17.8 million are extremely manageable considering how the wideout market exploded last year.

To top it all off, Sutton’s deal has a realistic out in 2024 so it’s not like the Cowboys would be making anything longer than a one-year commitment. He can be released next year to save $13.5 million with $3.8 million in dead money.

Sutton wouldn’t be our first choice, but he’d be the best non-Odell wideout in free agency and a palatable consolation prize if Hopkins, Cooks, Beckham, and potentially other stars land elsewhere.

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