Jerry Jones believes Cowboys have ‘ammo’ to make potential trade – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
If the Cowboys win their next two games, their chances of making a trade will increase significantly.
From trading a first-round pick to the Raiders for Amari Cooper in 2018 to acquiring Jonathan Mingo for a fourth-round pick last year, Dallas has made six trades in-season in the weeks leading up to the deadline over the last seven years. Could 2025 bring the seventh in eight years?
“We have thought all along that if we see a way to improve this year with a trade at the deadline, then we’ll take advantage of it,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said following a press conference about the upcoming 101st East-West Shrine Bowl. “That’s what we positioned for to start this year, was to have ammunition to do things if we have an opportunity.”
That’s not anything new from Jones, who has said several times during the last few weeks that the Cowboys are open for business if the right deal comes across the table. That said, nothing is in the works at present.
“I don’t have a trade in mind right now, at all,” Jones said. “That comes about right now if someone is on the phone calling.”
If the Cowboys were to make a transaction before the deadline, it’s highly likely that they would look to acquire a player that could help their defense, which currently ranks last in the NFL in yards allowed per game. Jones added that if the Cowboys were to look in that direction, it would be a move that looks not just at the 2025 season, but beyond too.
“If there is a trade that would help the defense, we’re in position to make that trade…” Jones reiterated. “[It] doesn’t mean we’re going to make one, but we certainly had in mind when we started this season that we were going to have ammo to be more flexible in terms of what we do with the roster as we move along this year, and of course as we get into the next couple of years.”
The team is hopeful of getting Jalen Cropper back on the practice squad.
After filling in on special teams, third-year wide receiver Jalen Cropper has been released. The move comes with the expected returns of superstar receiver CeeDee Lamb and electric playmaker KaVontae Turpin right around the corner.
According to Todd Archer of ESPN, the Cowboys are hopeful that Cropper will pass through the wire waiver and return to the team as a member of the practice squad.
Cropper appeared in three games this season and returned three punts for 27 yards and two kickoffs for 38 yards.
Cropper’s release comes hours after owner and general manager Jerry Jones revealed that he is hopeful All-Pro receiver Lamb will be able to return for Dallas’ Week 7 showdown with the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium.
Lamb has been out of action since suffering a high-ankle sprain just seven snaps into the team’s Week 3 loss to the Chicago Bears. Turpin, meanwhile, has been slowed this season due to a foot sprain, which has kept him out of the Cowboys’ past two games.
Who Jerry Jones, Cowboys could target via trade as owner says ‘we are still in it’ – Ayrton Ostly, USA Today
Dallas needs all the help it can get on the defensive side of the ball.
The Cowboys may be expecting two players back on what’s been a struggling defense so far in 2025. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown could be back after the team’s bye Nov. 9 after a serious knee injury last year. Rookie cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. may make his debut in the next month or so as he finishes rehabilitation on a torn ACL suffered in college.
But what if Jones and company don’t wait for those two players to make their debut? Dallas is armed with extra draft picks thanks to the Micah Parsons trade – an extra first-round pick in the 2026 and 2027 NFL Drafts – and more cap space.
Jones revealed the team is weighing their options ahead of the Nov. 4 deadline.
“We will weigh what are the likelihood of the players we’ve got coming back, how will they impact where that will put this team as opposed to should we add a player in a trade?” Jones said. “And I don’t have a trade in mind at all. And that comes about right now if someone is on the phone calling.”
Dallas could be active at the trade deadline. Here are six targets they should consider:
Hunter’s been one of the best and most productive pass rushers in the league for a decade. He’ll turn 31 years old later this month but he’s shown no signs of slowing down with age. The Texas native has four sacks through five games this year and ranks eighth league-wide in sack percentage, per NFL Next Gen Stats. His pass-rush get-off time is 0.84 seconds which is also top-10 league-wide.
Dallas’ defense needs help against both the run and pass. Hunter’s the type of edge rusher who can assist in both areas. He’s on pace for career-highs in tackles for loss as well as sacks this season.
What may make this worth it for Houston is the long-term outlook for the franchise. They have contract extensions looming for franchise cornerstones Will Anderson Jr. and C.J. Stroud amid a 2-3 start to the 2025 season. Their playoff chances aren’t looking good and it’d be worth getting value for Hunter, who is only on the books through next season (with three void years tacked on to his contract).
This one will definitely require one of those extra first-rounders. McDuffie’s been a top-10 cornerback in the NFL since 2023 and is arguably the best slot cornerback in the league. He’s spent more time outside for the Chiefs in 2024 and 2025 and is certainly usable in that alignment.
McDuffie is playing on the fourth year of his five-year rookie contract. Dallas already has two high-priced cornerbacks on the roster in DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs and adding McDuffie would make this the most expensive cornerback room in the league once he’s on his fifth-year option. But he’d also give the team a huge boost in coverage which it needs; Dallas ranks last in the NFL in expected points added (EPA) per pass allowed, per SumerSports.
Kansas City’s developed plenty of great cornerbacks over the years. They could bet on their infrastructure to develop another corner and/or use a first-rounder on a player at the position.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones sends strong message to DC Matt Eberflus – Randy Gurzi, Cowboys on SI
Jerry Jones is willing to fight for his defensive coordinator.
Following the loss, Dallas is fielding questions about defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who hasn’t shown any signs of improvement through six games. For fans hoping to hear a change is coming, they’re about to be disappointed.
While making his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan, owner and general manager Jerry Jones was asked about Eberflus and he gave a strong endorsement of the veteran coach.
Jerry Jones believes in Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus
“That’s who I want in the foxhole with me…I still feel as strongly as I did the day I brought him in here. The things we’re dealing with here are not one, two major things. It’s a lot of little things we can’t get right.” – Jones on Eberflus
Jones’ statement is meant to defend Eberflus but it actually shows the reason he should be on the hot seat. As Jones said, it’s nothing “major” holding them back, but a “lot of little things” that they can’t get right.
That’s a sign that Eberflus is struggling to get communication going on defense. It’s also why rookie receiver Tetairoa McMillan found more separation on Sunday than he did his entire collegiate career.
What’s worse is the Cowboys defense was at least decent against the run, but that’s suddenly become a concern as well. So while Jones is confident in Eberflus, it appears to the rest of the world as though he’s regressing.
That said, Dallas fans might want to buckle up, because it’s going to be a long season.
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