The NFL trade deadline seemingly always separates the elite front offices from the dysfunctional ones. Care to guess which side the Dallas Cowboys fall on?
The two-time defending champion and currently undefeated Kansas City Chiefs struck a deal for Patriots pass rusher Josh Uche this week. Before that, they traded for Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was linked to the Cowboys once upon a time.
The Chiefs have arguably the best defense in the league and have incentive to get better. Their receiving corps has been decimated by injuries and what do they do? Trade for a five-time Pro Bowler and a seven-time 1,000-yard receiver.
Meanwhile in Dallas, the front office continue to trust "their guys." Appearing on 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones gave a baffling assessment of the team's deeply-flawed roster.
Stephen Jones outright lied to Cowboys fans about team's 2024 roster
"This team is made up of a lot of the same players that won 12 games the last three seasons. Right now we’re just going through adversity. We’ve had more than our share of injuries it feels like this year, especially on the defensive side of the ball. … I think we have really good football players. At times we’ve had spurts when we’ve played well and obviously at times we’re not playing well."Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones
In fairness to Jones, he is right that the roster is composed of a lot of the same players that won 12 games three years in a row. Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, Trevon Diggs and DeMarcus Lawrence - among several others - are still around.
However, Jones failed to mention the mass exodus Dallas endured in 2024 free agency. You know, the players he and Jerry Jones failed to replace.
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We won't run through every player that left, but Dorance Armstrong, Tony Pollard, Stephon Gilmore, Dante Fowler and Johnathan Hankins are huge losses and the Cowboys did nary a thing to replace them.
Armstrong and Fowler weren't starters, but they were important depth pieces. They combined for 11.5 sacks last season. Dallas counted on Sam Williams and rookie second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland to replace them. Williams tore his ACL in training camp and Kneeland, currently on IR with his own knee injury, is a better run defender than pass rusher at this stage of his career.
Pollard had a down year in 2023, but he still accounted for over 1,300 scrimmage yards and six touchdowns. While letting Pollard walk was the smart move, expecting Rico Dowdle, Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook to replicate his production was negligent.
Nose tackle is arguably the weakest position on the roster. Hankins was at least adequate last season, and Dallas banked on a second-year jump from Mazi Smith to fill the void. There hasn't been any sign of positive progression from Smith. The experiment might be over after this year.
Not re-signing Gilmore or adding any semblance of experience has also loomed large. Bland's foot injury forced rookie fifth-round pick Caelen Carson to start. Well, Carson has missed the last four games and Dallas has rotated between practice squad-level players Andrew Booth and Amani Oruwariye to start with Trevon Diggs and Jourdan Lewis.
At the end of the day, the Cowboys are not a good football team. Getting players back from injury won't change anything. Sure, they have enough star-power to potentially flirt with 10 wins, but contending for a Super Bowl? Need we remind you of Dallas' last playoff game?
That is all on the Joneses. They created this mess and their refusal to take even a sliver of accountability is more evidence that they are one of the most dysfunctional front offices in the league.