Most 3-5 teams who just lost their starting quarterback to a significant hamstring injury would entertain selling players on expiring contracts at the trade deadline. Don't tell that to Jerry Jones, who insists on shipping off assets in the name of staying relevant.
Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that the Dallas Cowboys were closing in on a trade for a wide receiver. Before you could blink, Dallas secured a trade for Panthers wideout Jonathan Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round pick in exchange for a 2025 fourth-round pick.
There is so much wrong with the move. Dak Prescott is likely headed to injured reserve with his hamstring injury. While Mingo will be on the roster in 2025, why give up a day three pick for a wide receiver just as you lose your starting quarterback for the foreseeable future?
At the end of the day, the draft compensation is the biggest black eye. As much as we hate making another callback to the Amari Cooper trade, it is once again relevant thanks to Dallas completely misreading the WR market.
Jonathan Mingo trade is more proof the Cowboys botched trading away Amari Cooper
The Cowboys received a 5th round pick for Peak Amari Cooper
— Davis Mattek (@DavisMattek) November 5, 2024
They sent a 4th round pick for a guy getting benched for a UDFA from Holy Cross
This won't shock anyone, but the Cowboys spent more to acquire Mingo than they got in exchange for a prime Cooper.
They got a fifth-round pick for a 27-year-old Cooper, who accumulated 517 catches for 7,076 yards and 46 touchdowns in his career at the time of the trade. Meanwhile, they gave up a fourth-round selection for a 23-year-old Mingo, who has 55 catches for 539 yards and zero (!) TDs in his career.
It is worth noting Cooper and Mingo's contract situations were much different. Mingo is under contract through the 2026 season and he's owed less than $3 million in guaranteed money during that span. Contract influence on a trade price is real, but that doesn't change the fact that Mingo probably should have gone for (at most) a sixth-round pick swap.
It's unfair to compare Mingo and Cooper in terms of talent and production, but the Cowboys' front office leaves us no other choice when their trade prices are almost identical. Just like the Browns did with Cooper in 2021, the Panthers got a great haul for Mingo, whom they were likely done with anyway.
A second-round pick in 2023, Mingo has more fumbles (two) than touchdown catches (zero). Though he is still young and has an intriguing athletic profile - and Dallas needs another receiver - he is a complete dart-throw.
The Cowboys might want to stop making WR trades altogether. While the jury is out on that, what we can say with absolute certainty is that this won't be the last time they add more insult to one of the worst trades in franchise history.