Dallas Cowboys
Sam Hodde | Getty
Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys could be in the catbird seat to pull off a blockbuster trade to acquire Bengals edge rusher Trey Hendrickson.
The Dallas Cowboys‘ pass rush has lacked a consistently disruptive presence since trading Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers just days before the regular season kicked off, but Jerry Jones may be about to cook up another blockbuster deal to plug the hole.
Amid the Cincinnati Bengals turmoil since being outscored 113-37 since losing quarterback Joe Burrow for at least the next three months due to turf toe, there is a feeling among those inside the NFL that general manager Duke Tobin could be a seller at the trade deadline, possibly even moving All-Pro Trey Hendrickson.
One rival AFC Executive told Between The Hashmarks that the Cowboys could be “a team to watch,” if the Bengals move off Hendrickson.
Likewise, a veteran NFL scout suggests that the Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, and Buffalo Bills would be the ideal pairings of Hendrickson’s skill set, need, and scheme, ahead of the November 3 trade deadline.
Evaluators believe that losing Parsons’ presence has had a major trickle-down effect on coordinator Matt Eberflus’ defense that now ranks 32nd in total defense, allowing 412 yards per game while managing just 10 sacks through the season’s first five games.
“DaRon Bland and Trevon Diggs were the biggest beneficiaries of Micah and the pass rush, forcing the ball out quickly,” an AFC Scout told Between The Hashmarks after Week 4. “Bland, especially, was used to gambling on the short stuff. That’s how he got all of those pick-sixes.
“Now that the pass rush isn’t there, they can throw the ball over their heads, which was always Bland’s weak spot. And, with Diggs coming off that knee injury, he can’t run deep like he used to.”
Sunday’s blowout win over the New York Jets didn’t just improve the Cowboys to 2-2-1, but perhaps restores confidence that this is a team that can figure it out over the course of the season’s second half, especially if buoyed by a marquee addition.
Hendrickson is currently playing out a one-year contract worth $30 million, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones vowed at the time he traded Parsons in exchange for a pair of first-round draft choices and All-Pro edge rusher Kenny Clark that the cap space a Parsons contract extension would have accounted for and the draft capital would be used to improve the roster and prop open Dallas’ Super Bowl window.
Trading for Hendrickson, who has posted four sacks so far this season and 39 dating back to 2023, and subsequently signing the 30-year-old to a long-term contract extension could be the ideal fix for what’s ailing the Cowboys‘ defense.
Rico Dowdle Vows Revenge on the Cowboys
Cowboys
Grant Halverson | Getty Former Dallas Cowboys running back Rico Dowdle is eager to take on his former team, with the Carolina Panthers in Week 6.
Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle is coming off one of the most prolific games of his career, with sights set on exacting some revenge on his former team Sunday afternoon.
Dowdle busted out against the Miami Dolphins, rushing for 206 yards and a touchdown, while averaging nine yards per carry on his 23 rushing attempts as the driving force of Carolina’s 27-24 win.
Afterwards, Dowdle took aim at the Cowboys, who signed him as an undrafted free agent following the 2020 NFL Draft.
“They got to buckle up,” Dowdle said of the Cowboys after the Panthers’ win, via ESPN. “I think they know for sure. They didn’t keep me there for five years for no reason.”
Dallas allowed Dowdle to test free agency, where he ultimately landed with the Panthers after rushing for 1,440 yards and four touchdowns over the past two seasons, and seems eager to remind the Cowboys what they’re missing without him.