To say that the Dallas Cowboys rebounded swimmingly from trading Micah Parsons would be an understatement. Every notable move comes with some degree of risk, but it's difficult to look at the totality of Dallas' work this offseason and not come away impressed with how it reshaped the roster.
Some moves, though, feel misguided from the minute they're made. From drafting Luke Schoonmaker in the second round to trading a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance, a lot of this front office's biggest blunders have been entirely self-inflicted.
Unfortunately, the Jonathan Mingo trade is trending in that direction, and it's hard to envision a turnaround given how OTAs have unfolded.
According to Brian Schottenheimer, Mingo is dealing with a groin injury and did not practice on Tuesday. The Cowboys would love for Mingo to carve out a role, but he's making it increasingly difficult to justify their patience.
Dallas Cowboys WR Jonathan Mingo is running out of time to prove himself
Mingo did not practice last week, either, and the timing could not be more unfortunate. With George Pickens absent from OTAs, first-team reps are available for the taking, making every missed practice that much more costly.
With Mingo sidelined, April signing Marquez Valdes-Scantling has practiced with the starters. That could have been Mingo, given his experience in the offense. Alas, Valdes-Scantling got the nod, and he's apparently made the most of his opportunities.
Granted, there's only so much ground Mingo can lose during glorified walkthroughs. But let's not forget that he missed a significant portion of last season after suffering a PCL injury in training camp.
Even after he was activated, Mingo spent weeks as a healthy scratch and didn't make his season debut until Week 12. He was active for six of Dallas' final seven games, but managed just one catch for 25 yards while playing just 18 percent of the snaps.
If you needed more proof that Mingo is skating on thin ice, the Cowboys removed the $812,000 workout bonus that was in the contract he signed when he was drafted by the Carolina Panthers. He's on the books for a non-guaranteed $1.145 million in 2026.
In other words, Dallas can pull the ripcord on him at any moment and save $1.145 million in salary cap space with $0 in dead money, according to OverTheCap. Nobody is rooting for that -- OK, maybe some of you are -- but he is on the clock.
The silver lining for Mingo is that he has experience on special teams, and Jalen Tolbert's departure created an open spot in the WR room. The last roster spots typically favor players who can contribute on special teams, and Valdes-Scantling has played just five special teams snaps since 2019, per PFF.
But that won't be enough. He has to contribute offensively in some capacity, and his latest setback is preventing that from happening.
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