There's a last-minute case for Jerry Jones to take the leap of faith for one of the best pass rushers in the game.
To put it lightly, America's Team is in dire need of getting a premier defender at the trade deadline, and the Dallas Cowboys might've just surprisingly met their match. Looking as of now, there's only one team that's worse than the Cowboys when it comes to defensive rankings.
Who, you might ask? The Cincinnati Bengals. The New York Jets, the last winless team in the NFL, got their first win against the Bengals after a poor defensive display in the second half. This could be the leverage that the Joneses could use to lure Bengals All-Pro pass rusher Trey Hendrickson to the Cowboys.
Trey Hendrickson being on Bengals' worst-ranked defense is leverage for Cowboys' Jerry Jones
This could be the boiling point in Cincinnati, as the Bengals held a players-only meeting after giving up a game to one of the worst teams in the league. As it stands now, the Bengals are ranked dead-last in defense, giving up 407.9 yards per game to the Cowboys. However, the Boys don't fare much better, giving up 404.6 yards per game.
The Cowboys may have already been rebuffed by Cincinnati, but it's also fair for one of the best rushers in the game to decide for himself if he wants to stay on the worst defense in the league. Sure, Dallas isn't much better, but the Cowboys are truly a Hendrickson away from being a legit contender.
For the Bengals' side of things, they have a strong case to blow up the team with the way things look right now. They're not getting any better with Joe Flacco, and their star QB, Joe Burrow, won't return from injury until mid-December. Even though the Bengals are still in contention in the AFC North, December is when the smoke starts to clear. It might be too late for the Bengals to pull any heroics like they tried to last season.
It's also important to point out that the relationship between the Bengals' front office and Hendrickson has been rocky since the summer. At one point, Hendrickson claimed he didn't want to play in 2025 under his current contract, and even strayed away from the Bengals' offseason program. This is an advantage for the Joneses to make something happen.
Now, things aren't looking bright at all for the Bengals, as they're only hanging by a thread, waiting for Burrow to return.
Hendrickson joining the Cowboys would shake the entire DFW metroplex. Either way, the Joneses are under immense pressure to secure a trade before the deadline, at least to help out their star-powered offense as they continue to hold the fort down as best as they can.