It's too early to say with absolute certainty that the Dallas Cowboys got it all wrong by hiring Christian Parker to lead their defensive turnaround.
The early returns have been uninspiring, to say the least, prompting Dallas to bring in Mike Pettine as a senior advisor and Parker to move from the sidelines to the coaching booth.
This train might be heading full steam ahead for Parker to get dismissed at the end of the season. Who knows? If things continue on their current trajectory, would you be stunned if they canned him in-season and appointed Pettine as the interim DC? Anything, unfortunately, is on the table.
With that said, though, hiring Parker is far from the only offseason move that should be questioned in hindsight.
4 Cowboys offseason moves that have aged like milk
1. Trading for Rashan Gary
Gary is better than the film he's put out thus far. Even he would admit that. But that doesn't really matter, does it? He was brought in to, at the very least, raise the floor of the run defense. While he played well in the win over Houston, his season can only be described as a disappointment.
Through Week 5, Gary ranks 99th out of 106 edge defenders with a 46.9 run-defense grade, per Pro Football Focus. Say what you will about PFF's grading system, but that feels spot on. Gary has been more reliable at breaking contain than he has been at sealing the edge. And his effort, or lack thereof, against the Buccaneers left a lot to be desired.
Maybe playing his third game in 12 days caught up, but Gary prides himself on being a great teammate and playing until the whistle. The Cowboys need a lot more from him.
If you can believe it, Gary's been better at rushing the passer. PFF credits him with 15 pressures (25th among EDGEs) and 11 hurries (15th). That output is fine. His 17.8 percent pass-rush win rate is actually ninth among edge defenders (minimum 100 snaps), but then why do we barely feel his impact?
Gary can turn this around if he creates more splash plays as a two-way defender. The Texans game has to become the norm because in his other four games, he might as well not have been out there.
Sending a fourth-round pick to Green Bay looks more questionable with every game. He's on a reasonable contract, but that doesn't mean anything if he's not producing.
2. Trading for Dee Winters
The Dee Winters trade looked brilliant at the time. He was coming off a breakout season in San Francisco while filling in for the injured Fred Warner, and Dallas got him for a 2026 fifth-round pick.
It felt like highway robbery. However, it's become clear that Winters benefited from playing alongside better players in a much healthier defensive ecosystem.
Winters' struggles in coverage aren't all that surprising, but it's been really bad. How about a 43.3 coverage grade and a 106.9 passer rating allowed? Woof. Sadly, that's not a surprise, given he's allowed 16 of 18 targets to be completed for 174 yards. No one's expecting him to be Sean Lee out there, but teams are constantly hunting him. He's a complete liability.
Oh yeah. The other stuff.
What's been far more disappointing is his inability to navigate traffic, maintain gap discipline, and finish tackles. He's already missed six tackles, too often getting caught on his heels in the open field or taking poor angles to the ball. He wouldn't be a starting linebacker on most teams.
Maybe a pairing of Jaishawn Barham and DeMarvion Overshown can finally give the Cowboys some stability at linebacker. Winters is a perfectly fine depth piece, but it's become painfully clear that the offseason hype got way out over its skis.
3. Whiffing on Nakobe Dean and Devin Lloyd in free agency
Speaking of linebackers, anyone else wonder what Dallas' record would be if the front office were able to get any of these guys over the line?
The Cowboys reportedly made competitive offers for Nakobe Dean and Quay Walker, only to watch both linebackers sign with the Las Vegas Raiders. The former Georgia teammates wanted to reunite, but that didn't make it any less humbling for Dallas to lose two of its top free-agent targets to the Raiders, a team that's made the playoffs twice since 2002.
They also checked in on Devin Lloyd, but weren't comfortable meeting his price tag, and now the Panthers are reaping the benefits. He's done a little bit of everything for Carolina, logging 31 tackles, two interceptions, a pick-six, six pressures, and allowing a 64.6 passer rating in coverage. That's a three-game sample size, by the way.
Imagine Dallas had that patrolling the middle of their feeble defense.
Dean, meanwhile, has been shot out of a cannon in Las Vegas. He leads all linebackers with three forced fumbles and is top five at the position in sacks (fourth) and defensive stops (fifth), while being ninth with a 76.4 pass-rush grade.
It's stomach-turning to think about how much better the Cowboys' defense would be if it had Dean and Barham setting the tone. Dean and Barham could have transformed linebacker from a glaring weakness into the heartbeat of the defense.
4. Pulling out of the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes
Am I being harsh here? Maybe.
The Cowboys were reportedly in the Maxx Crosby sweepstakes right up until the end. It was the Ravens who ultimately pried Crosby from Las Vegas by way of two first-round picks. However, Baltimore backed out of the trade before it became official, citing concerns about Crosby's knee after a failed physical.
That left the door wide open for Jerry Jones to swoop in, but he was nowhere to be found ... only to push the door ajar at the onset of training camp, telling reporters at the annual Oxnard press conference that he never lost interest in trading for Crosby. Huh?
Why not just make the move after the Ravens backed out? There's definitely some truth to Las Vegas wanting to keep Crosby after the trade fell through, but it's hard to believe the door slammed shut completely. If the Cowboys were willing to be aggressive, that was the time to find out just how serious the Raiders were about keeping him.
Now, Las Vegas sits here with a 3-2 record with potentially zero intention of moving Crosby, who, unsurprisingly, looks like a top-five edge rusher in the sport. He's top five in pressures, hurries, and quarterback hits, along with a 78.7 run-defense grade. There's another Pro Bowl in Maxx's future.
It's easy to say in hindsight, but there was undoubtedly a window of opportunity after the Ravens ripped the carpet from under the Raiders. The Cowboys twiddled their thumbs, and now they are stuck with one of the least impactful EDGE rooms in the league.
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