The Cowboys could still look to add some help to their roster at this point.
If we’ve learned anything about the Dallas Cowboys through the first three weeks of the 2024 season it’s that this year’s roster has some glaring holes that will continue to cause them problems until they are addressed. No matter how much posturing Jerry Jones makes about about the current state of the Cowboys roster being just fine, it’s abundantly apparent the opposite is true.
Today, we are going to explore three relatively low cost moves the Dallas Cowboys should make after back-to-back losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens. Each proposed roster move has the possibility of addressing some of the Cowboys problem areas and would do so with relatively minimum investment. These are exactly the type of low-risk, high-reward moves Dallas likes to make and should absolutely be considered.
Trade for New York Jets RB Israel Abanikanda
The Cowboys rushing attack, or lack thereof, so far this season has really made the entire offense one-dimensional. The trio of Ezekiel Elliott, Rico Dowdle, and Deuce Vaughn don’t strike any fear into opposing defenses. Dallas would be wise to try to upgrade this position and trading for Israel Abanikanda would at the very least be a step in the right direction. At 5’10”, 216-pounds with reported sub-4.4 speed, Abanikanda would add a different element to Dallas’ current stock of RBs. And considering he’s currently RB4 with the Jets and hasn’t played a single snap for them this year, he could be acquired relatively cheaply via trade.
Sign DT Siaki Ika off Cleveland Browns practice squad
The Cowboys defensive front has been absolutely embarrassed in back-to-back weeks by both the Saints and Ravens. The solution to fixing the run defense doesn’t seem to be on the roster right now, and signing or trading for anyone who would would be an immediate upgrade seems highly unlikely. That shouldn’t stop the Cowboys from trying though. At 6’3″, 335-pounds, Siaki Ika is the big bodied type of DT Mike Zimmer likes in his defensive scheme. His size and talent is intriguing enough for the Cowboys to poach him off the Browns practice squad to try to upgrade their DL.
Sign free agent WR Chase Claypool
Chase Claypool has been labeled as somewhat of a diva wide receiver with questionable effort on a down-to-down basis since entering the league, but could potentially help the Cowboys passing game if signed via free agency. At 6’4″, 238-pounds with legit 4.42 speed, Claypool would give Dak Prescott another big target on the outside in Dallas’ aerial attack. With both Brandin Cooks and Jalen Tolbert struggling to find any kind consistency this year, Claypool would at the very least provide legitimate competition to push the two and quite possibly find a role in the roatition.