The Dallas Cowboys dropped to 3-5-1with their loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday night. It feels like a long shot, at best, that they will jump back into the playoff conversation, but that isn't stopping Jerry Jones from pushing the envelope before Tuesday's trade deadline.
Jones has already struck a deal for Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson, sending a seventh-round pick to Cincinnati for the grizzled vet. It's not a needle-moving trade by any stretch of the imagination, but it should help stop the hemorrhaging in the second level of the defense.
Still, Jones will need to swing a blockbuster to salvage what's left of the season. A trade for Raiders star pass rusher Maxx Crosby is widely viewed as a potential season-saver, but there's an alternative swing Dallas should consider: Titans defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons.
Cowboys should absolutely trade for Titans DT Jeffery Simmons
While Simmons might not even be enough to save this defense, he would absolutely propel the Cowboys' ceiling in 2026 and beyond. He's the best defensive player in the NFL that nobody talks about because he's been stuck in Tennessee his entire career, but he's a game-wrecker.
Simmons currently ranks first among interior defenders with a 91.1 pass-rush grade, via Pro Football Focus. He's top eight at the position in pressures, defensive stops, hurries, quarterback hits, and forced fumbles. He is also one of the best run-stuffing interior defenders.
The Cowboys simply haven't gotten enough production from their DT room. Circled as a strength of the defense before the year, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa have been major disappointments. They are making $21.3 million and $20 million per year, respectively.
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While Dallas can get out of Clark's contract after the season without breaking a sweat, Odighizuwa's extension doesn't kick in until next season, meaning 2027 is the earliest the front office can release him with a palatable dead cap hit. The Cowboys can trade Odighizuwa in 2026 and save over $16 million in cap room while absorbing just $4 million in dead money.
Bottom line is that Clark and Odighizuwa are not the answer. Clark has at least had some strong games this year, but he's been up and down. Odighizuwa, though, has largely been a ghost. It's becoming increasingly likely that Odighizuwa's pre-2025 production was a product of playing on the same defensive line as Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence.
Simmons would immediately fix the spine of the defense. Maybe the Titans would want Odighizuwa in return to help offset the loss of their three-time Pro Bowler.
Regardless, Simmons might not even cost a first-round pick because of positional value. A core of Simmons, DeMarvion Overshown, and Donovan Ezeiruaku would give Dallas a trio of foundational pieces to build around as they work to get back into contention.
If they hit on their two first-round picks next year, they might just have something with Simmons as the centerpiece.