National Football League

Cowboys' decision to not acquire WR help could haunt them

Updated Nov. 3, 2022 4:50 p.m. ET

If there's one NFL owner who should understand the need to be bold, to think big, and that time is fleeting, it's the NFL's greatest showman. Jerry Jones, especially now at age 80, figured to be the one going all-in this year.

But that thinking was absent in the run-up to the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday — one of the busiest the league has ever seen. Somehow Jones' Cowboys failed to land the wide receiver they so obviously, desperately need.

And they're going to regret not finding a way to bring in the one player who just might have put them over the top.

The Cowboys certainly tried to acquire a receiver to boost their sagging passing game and help out WR1 CeeDee Lamb. They were calling around about all the available receivers, according to multiple league sources, even as Jones insisted they were fine with what they had. They were even close to landing Brandin Cooks from the Houston Texans, with a deal that fizzled in the final minutes, according to multiple reports.

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"It was an intense day," Cowboys VP Stephen Jones told reporters in Dallas on Wednesday. "Felt like we had some things that might work out, but unfortunately they didn't, on several fronts."

Which is weird, because the Joneses aren't usually the type to take no for an answer without finding a way to make an offer that can't be refused. And what stood in the way, apparently, was something that should never stand in the way for them: money. Cooks is guaranteed $18 million in salary in 2023, and coupled with the Texans' asking price — a second-round draft pick, one source said — it was all just too much for most teams.

But it shouldn't have been too much for the Cowboys. Yes, a second-round pick is valuable and they could get a nice player with it next April — maybe even a top receiver. And an $18 million cap hit next season is a lot for a 29-year-old receiver, especially for a team that currently isn't projected to have that much in cap space then.

But so what? As teams like the Los Angeles Rams have shown in past years, and teams like the Miami Dolphins — who traded for receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason, and then got edge rusher Bradley Chubb and running back Jeff Wilson at the deadline — have apparently learned, you can always worry about next year, next year. It makes no sense to consider the future when a championship run is within reach. There are always ways to figure cap problems out. Why stress about future assets when your team is close, especially when it's a flagship franchise that hasn't been to the Super Bowl in 27 years?

The Cowboys, quite frankly, shouldn't have let anything stand in their way in their quest for a second receiver. They have a team good enough in almost every phase to compete for a championship, with an All-Pro quarterback, a strong running game and a defense that looks elite. But they have one glaring hole that they've known about since they traded receiver Amari Cooper in the offseason.

Why wouldn't they do whatever it takes to fill that hole right now?

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Clearly nothing the Cowboys have tried has worked. They have touted the return of Michael Gallup, who tore his ACL last January, but he has been a nonfactor, with just 12 catches in five games so far. Noah Brown has been a pleasant surprise, with 25 catches for 339 yards, but he's a fourth or fifth receiver, not a No. 2. And while the Cowboys thought they had something when they drafted South Alabama's Jalen Tolbert in the third round, he's been a bust so far, with just two passes thrown his direction (and one catch) in the four games he's played.

Stephen Jones actually touted the presence of James Washington and KaVontae Turpin as proof that the Cowboys will be all right. But Washington, who had 24 catches for 285 yards in 15 games for the Steelers last season, has been out since August with a broken foot. And Turpin has three catches for 17 yards this season after playing in the USFL.

It's no wonder that Lamb — though he's having a strong season with 42 catches for 556 yards and three touchdowns despite not having quarterback Dak Prescott throwing to him for five games — hasn't exactly been the big-play receiver they needed him to be this season. He has just eight receptions of 20-plus yards in eight games.

The Cowboys are heartened by the fact that four of those have come in the two games since Prescott has been back, but how long can that last with no other receiver stepping up? Imagine what Prescott and Lamb could do if defenses had another receiver to worry about. Someone with the straight-away speed of Cooks, or the size and strength of Chase Claypool, who was traded from Pittsburgh to Chicago for a second-round pick, or the playmaking ability of Denver's Jerry Jeudy or Carolina's D.J. Moore, who both were on the trading block, sources said.

Any one of them would've been more valuable to Jones and the Cowboys than a 2023 second-round pick. But they played a passive game at the trading deadline instead of the aggressive one they should've been playing. It's as if they decided to stand on 15 at the Blackjack table. It might work, but it's a timid play and the odds are that they will eventually lose.

Does that sound like a Jerry Jones move?

Maybe it was the smart move for the long-term, but Jones can't possibly be playing the long game now — certainly not with the team he has. Dallas' window to compete for a championship is definitely open. But with salary cap issues coming in the future, injuries hitting key players and age creeping up on everyone, it will be closing fast.

Ralph Vacchiano is the NFC East reporter for FOX Sports, covering the Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants. He spent the previous six years covering the Giants and Jets for SNY TV in New York, and before that, 16 years covering the Giants and the NFL for the New York Daily News. Follow him Twitter at @RalphVacchiano.