At this point, Dallas Cowboys fans have become apathetic to the front office's lack of ideation. Just last week, the Cowboys were gifted a running back upgrade on a silver platter in the form of Israel Abanikanda, but they let the 49ers claim him off waivers.
Abanikanda could have played himself onto the 2025 roster, or at least the practice squad, with a strong finish to the season. Then again, Dallas still insists on spelling Rico Dowdle with Ezekiel Elliott. It was wishful thinking that they would ever add someone who could threaten Elliott's role.
Anything to keep Jerry Jones' favorites content, right?
Sure enough, another opportunity to upgrade arrived at the Joneses' doorstep when the Patriots released wide receiver K.J. Osborn. With Jalen Tolbert struggling with drops, Jonathan Mingo being invisible since the trade and rookie Ryan Flournoy hardly seeing the field, Osborn could have stepped into an immediate role as soon as Sunday against the Carolina Panthers.
The Cowboys were not bothered to claim Osborn, which allowed Dan Quinn to swoop in and add the 27-year-old for the home stretch.
Dan Quinn's Commanders claiming K.J. Osborn is embarrassing for the Cowboys
Former #Patriots WR KJ Osborn, who was waived yesterday, was claimed by the #Commanders, source said. pic.twitter.com/Qm2pyR7JC4
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 11, 2024
It's shrewd, low-profile moves like this that separate the best front offices from the rest. With former Cowboy Noah Brown likely out for the rest of the season, the Commanders wisely went on the aggressive. Shrewd and aggressive are basically the opposite of what Dallas has personified under this regime.
While Osborn isn't a game-breaker, he's an accomplished receiver in the league. None of the Cowboys' receivers sans CeeDee Lamb and Brandin Cooks match that description.
READ MORE: Cowboys caught sleeping again as NFC rival claims talented running back
Tolbert is in year three and it might be his last with the team. The former third-round pick tricked fans in training camp that he was headed for a breakout year. He has just 39 catches for 451 yards and four touchdowns. Keep in mind Cooks missed seven games so Tolbert operated as WR2 for most of the year.
Mingo, meanwhile, has just two catches for 10 yards on 11 targets in four games since Dallas traded for him at the deadline. Flournoy was a healthy scratch as recently as two weeks ago and Jalen Brooks has been a healthy scratch in two of the last four games.
And yet, they couldn't put in a claim for Osborn ... who may or may not be better than Cooks at this stage of their respective careers. In his final three years in Minnesota, Osborn averaged 52.6 catches for 615 yards and five touchdowns. For context, Cooks caught 54 passes for 657 yards and eight TDs last year.
Missing out on Osborn isn't the end of the world. However, claiming him could have led to a partnership in 2025, when the Cowboys will definitely have to replace their WR2 (Cooks) and potentially their WR3 (Tolbert).
Don't worry, though. The Joneses are probably already scheming to trade another fourth-round pick to fill the void.