The Cowboys are still getting punished for the Trey Lance trade, and now the sting comes with a new twist: the pick Dallas sent to San Francisco helped deliver Malik Mustapha, who is quickly becoming one of the 49ers’ most reliable defensive pieces.
That matters because Mustapha keeps showing up in big moments. On Monday night, he helped San Francisco hold off Washington after the Commanders mounted a furious second-half push.
The 49ers had built a 20-3 lead, then watched the game tilt as defensive penalties and a quiet offense let Jayden Daniels and Washington settle in. With Mike Evans leaving injured and Terry McLaurin out, the Niners still needed someone to steady the ship.
Mustapha answered.
He delivered the stop on Jeremy McNichols on a huge run fit, a play that showcased the things that make him so valuable: recognition, burst, physicality and finishing ability. Then, on the very next snap, he stayed glued to Jayden Daniels’ 4th-and-3 throw, broke up the pass and forced a turnover on downs. Treylon Burks looked like he had the catch at first, but Mustapha stayed in phase and knocked the ball free as they went to the turf.
The 24-year-old doesn’t carry the same name recognition as Fred Warner, and he’s not Nick Bosa, when healthy, but he’s clearly part of the backbone of that defense. According to Pro Football Focus, 75 safeties have played at least 100 snaps this season, and Mustapha’s numbers stand out. He has been targeted six times on 119 coverage snaps and hasn’t allowed a catch.
That kind of production turns a trade into a headache all over again for Dallas. The Cowboys used a fourth-round pick in the deal, and it’s impossible to say whether they would have taken Mustapha in 2024. Still, they did use a fifth-round pick that year on cornerback Caelen Carson, so defensive back help was clearly on their radar.
The broader story, though, is that the Lance move never gave Dallas what it wanted. Jerry Jones brought Lance in despite already having Dak Prescott, a top-10 quarterback in his prime. Prescott saw the situation for what it was, and after the 2024 season he landed a four-year, $240 million deal that made him the richest quarterback in the NFL.
Lance’s Cowboys run was brief and largely empty. He spent 2023 mostly redshirting, then couldn’t beat out Cooper Rush the next summer even after taking every preseason rep.
He played in four games for Dallas, completing 25 of 41 passes for 266 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Most of that came in his lone start, a loss to Washington in the 2024 season finale.
He only got that chance because the Cowboys had already been eliminated from playoff contention by Week 16 of the 2024 season.
So in the end, Dallas gave up a fourth-rounder for a short, emergency stretch from a third-string quarterback, and San Francisco got a rising defensive back who keeps making plays. For Cowboys fans who had already moved on from the Lance experiment, Mustapha is the kind of reminder that doesn’t fade easily.
In Other News...
Cowboys Secondary Battle Could Force A Big Cornerback Change
The Cowboys have spent the first part of the season sorting through their cornerback depth while trying to steady a secondary that has already been tested during a 2-4 start. One of the more notable developments has been Ameer Speed earning more playing time than Shavon Revel Jr., with Speed holding the edge in both snaps and coverage production as the staff looks for reliable answers on the back end.
That trend has opened the door to a possible depth chart adjustment, one that would shift more responsibility toward Speed if the team decides it needs a cleaner fit in the secondary. For a defense trying to find its footing, the Cowboys are clearly weighing whether the current rotation is helping or whether a change at cornerback could bring a little more stability. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Just Added Fresh Intrigue To Cowboys Eagles Week 7
With Troy Aikmans ESPN contract set to expire after the season, Jerry Jones added another layer to the familiar Cowboys-Eagles backdrop by weighing in on what comes next for the Hall of Fame quarterback-turned-broadcaster. Jones didnt just frame Aikman as a voice on Sundays, either, praising what he can do beyond the booth and giving the discussion a little more texture than the usual end-of-contract chatter.
It also arrives at a time when the Eagles front office is getting its own nods, with Howie Roseman drawing praise from Jalen Hurts camp for the way he handled Hurts blood clot situation. With Jones and Roseman on opposite sidelines when Dallas and Philadelphia meet in Week 7, the game already had enough storyline fuel. Jones latest comments only sharpen the sense that this one will carry more than the usual NFC East edge. [Read more 🡒]
Caleb Downs Is Already Facing A Cowboys Problem He Didnt Create
Caleb Downs has already been asked to do a little of everything in his first season with the Cowboys, and that has made his adjustment more complicated than a simple rookie learning curve. Injuries and uneven play in the secondary have pushed Dallas to shuffle pieces around, and Downs has become one of the players most affected by it. A safety by trade who thrived in college in that role, he has been stretched into responsibilities that do not always match what he did best before arriving in Dallas.
The growing pains have shown up most clearly when he is lined up in the nickel, where the fit has been tougher than it looked on paper. Even so, Downs still leads the team in tackles, a sign that the production is there even if the comfort level is still catching up. For the Cowboys, the larger issue is less about one rookie adjusting and more about a secondary that has forced him into spots that ask a lot more than his natural position did. [Read more 🡒]