The Dallas Cowboys may have entered the week with trade-deadline buzz around them, but Jerry Jones isn’t sounding like a seller.
On his regular Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones made it clear the Cowboys are not looking to move pieces out right now, even with the team sitting at 3-5 after another rough loss to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8. George Pickens has been mentioned in the conversation as the deadline chatter has picked up, but Jones shut down the idea that Dallas is ready to start unloading talent.
“Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on (105.3 Tha Fan) further confirms that the team is not looking to sell at the trade deadline,” The Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris relayed.
Jones has spent much of the offseason and the stretch since the trade for Joey Porter Jr. signaling that he still wants to add help, especially on defense. That stance hasn’t changed, at least in principle. But on Tuesday, he said there was nothing close to getting done.
“At this particular time, I don’t see anything," Jones said, per Jon Machota of The Athletic.
That fits the moment around the league. With a week still left before the deadline, teams are still holding firm on steep asking prices, hoping somebody blinks first. As the deadline gets closer, those prices usually come down, and that’s when deals tend to start moving.
Around the NFL, the sense is that this could be a busy deadline, with several trades expected. Recent movement has already included Jeffery Simmons, DeForest Buckner and Quenton Nelson changing teams.
Still, wanting to make a deal and actually landing one are two very different things. The Cowboys would need the price to be right, the fit to make sense, and the player to actually move the needle. That last part matters a lot here, because Dallas has bigger problems than one splashy addition can fix.
The reality is that only a truly elite player, like Maxx Crosby, would seem capable of making a real dent in the Cowboys’ defensive mess. Even then, there’s a strong case that the issues run too deep, stretching from the coaching staff down through the roster.
For that reason, the safer play may be the simplest one: stand pat and protect what draft capital is left rather than forcing another move that doesn’t change the outlook.
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