There are not many things you can guarantee in this world, but the Dallas Cowboys getting lambasted in the immediate aftermath of a big trade is one of them. Now, in fairness, the Cowboys have made many a maddening trade under owner and de facto general manager Jerry Jones.
Trading away Micah Parsons is difficult to defend by itself, but Jones didn't get anything close to a fair return. A lot of the criticism is warranted, but the backlash following Dallas' blockbuster trade for Quinnen Williams felt forced.
Between national NFL writers misconstruing the deal as an all-in move to save this season and exaggerating how much the Cowboys paid for Williams, the consensus is that Dallas got fleeced and largely made the trade to stay relevant after falling to 3-5-1 before its bye week.
However, Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd doesn't see it that way. Cowherd is actually a big fan of the trade, and he explained why on the latest episode of The Herd.
Colin Cowherd thinks the Cowboys' Quinnen Williams trade was a smart move
"I am in total disagreement with virtually every other media member on what the Cowboys did with Micah and these moves to get Quinnen Williams"@colincowherd says Jerry Jones is making GOOD moves for the Cowboys pic.twitter.com/FzxzRKpJQR
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) November 6, 2025
Cowherd is a big fan of the "liquidation" and "diversification" that the Parsons-Williams swaps create in regard to the Cowboys' salary cap. With Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb already signed to top-of-the-market contracts, Cowherd believes signing Parsons would've made Dallas too "top-heavy."
Being a top-heavy roster has been one of the Cowboys' biggest issues. Singing Parsons to more than $40 million per year would've compounded that problem. While Williams will need a new deal soon, he won't cost anything close to Parsons. That will allow the front office to allocate resources to other positions.
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Cowherd also applauded Dallas for keeping both of its 2026 first-round picks in an incredibly rich edge rusher class. The Cowboys have a great chance to come out of the first round with a new starting cornerback and Donovan Ezeiruaku's long-term running mate at edge rusher.
Jerry Jones has taken a lot of heat for sending the Jets the higher of Dallas' 2027 first-round picks. While a good move for the Jets -- the 2027 class is shaping up to be historic talent-wise -- what sense does it make for the Cowboys to keep both '27 firsts? Their window with Dak Prescott could close after the 2028 season.
Finally, Cowherd made another strong point about the Cowboys potentially using their 2026 first-round picks to trade back with a quarterback-needy team, depending on where they draft. That seems unlikely, but you can never rule out Dallas trading back in a draft to obtain more capital.
The bottom line? The Cowboys improved their defense significantly, made their chances of competing in 2026 that much more realistic, and created a ton of cap flexibility while managing to keep both of their first-round picks next year.
If that's not good business -- Parsons debacle notwithstanding -- we're not sure what is.