Cowboys trade expendable TE who would have been cut to Chiefs in genius move

The Dallas Cowboys don't often make roster moves, but when they do they come in waves! CeeDee Lamb's extension feels like it happened a week ago at this point as Dallas has since set free agent visits with running back Dalvin Cook and edge rusher Tyus Bowser.

As the front office works to trim the roster to 53 players before Tuesday's deadline, the Cowboys have managed to trade a player that was on the chopping block.

Per NFL Media's Tom Pelissero, Dallas has traded tight end Peyton Hendershot to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys will reportedly receive a 2026 seventh-round pick if Hendershot is on the Chiefs' 53-man roster for five games this season or if Hendershot is on the game day roster for three games.

Cowboys reportedly trade TE Peyton Hendershot to the KC Chiefs

It was widely reported on Tuesday that Hendersot was going to be released. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler noted that Hendershot was floated as a trade chip over the last few days. That suggested the Cowboys tried (and failed) to trade the 25-year-old.

Before Hendershot's release became official, though, Dallas and Kanas City worked something out in the eleventh hour before the 3 p.m. CT deadline.

The Cowboys signed Hendershot in 2022 as an undrafted free agent. He showed promise as a rookie, when he appeared in all 17 games and caught 11 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns. It was solid production given he was working behind Dalton Schultz and then-rookie Jake Ferguson.

Hendershot was a solid depth tight end for the Cowboys, but he never blossomed after his rookie year. Ferguson emerged as the clear alpha in the TE room after Schultz left as a free agent last March and Dallas used a second-round pick last year on Luke Schoonmaker.

Entering a make-or-break summer, Hendershot missed the start of minicamp due to a medical procedure and was then hampered in training camp by a shoulder injury. He missed the first preseason game and caught his only target for 10 yards in two games after he returned.

It remains to be seen what the Cowboys' tight end room will look like, but most projections have Ferguson, Schoonmaker and John Stephens making the roster. Undrafted free agent Brevyn Spann-Ford is also in consideration, as is second-year man Princeton Fant.

It became clear early in camp that Hendershot was the odd man out in the TE group. He never put it together in Dallas, but he lands in a dream spot in Kansas City to jumpstart his career studying under future first-ballot Hall of Famer Travis Kelce.

More Cowboys news and analysis