FRISCO - Two Dallas Cowboys-related parlor games are now taking the NFL world by storm.
One popular pastime: Deep analysis of a locker-room culture that in this space we've long suggested is more about "53 Brands'' than it is about "Brotherhood,'' witness the now fully-exposed leadership rift between Seattle-bound old-guard DeMarcus Lawrence and new-wave boss Micah Parsons.
Another popular pastime: Any move owner Jerry Jones' team makes is scoffed at and derided.
Want examples?
The Buffalo Bills - who obviously know how to build a winning culture in the time that both Josh Allen and Sean McDermott have been running the show - can't keep everybody happy.
Kaiir Elam is a good example of that. The former first-round pick out of Florida was expected to be a key part of the organization's push to get past the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC.
That didn't exactly happen, though, And Elam has his reason why.
After being traded to the Dallas Cowboys days ago, the 23-year-old is telling all about what really went down during his struggles with the organization.
And why he never really got a fair opportunity to succeed.
"Coming to Buffalo, I was a kid that just wanted to improve and learn and really show off my talents," Elam said. "But I was always put in the back seat.''
The facts on Elam?
In 29 starts through the last three seasons, Elam picked off two passes and made 81 combined tackles. He struggled through injuries and ineffective play over the years before being replaced by Rasul Douglas and sixth-round cornerback Christian Benford from his same draft.
Elam might get a chance to start in Dallas. ... so this trade, in which the Cowboys give up peanuts, is worthy of a plus grade, right?
Wrong.
The trade is being panned nation-wide, including one website that wants it both ways, ripping both the Elam move and the previous attempt to sign cornerback Brandon Stephens.
Stephens opted to join the New York Jets with a three-year, $36 million contract. And there are now some who are dissing the Cowboys for even thinking about anything like that - with a site saying Dallas "nearly made a grave error'' and "avoided a disaster.''
But ... we thought Jones' unwilling to spend was a bad thing.
Now frugality is a good thing?
Same deal with Kenneth Murray, Jr. A site has a headline that reads, "Latest details in Kenneth Murray Jr. trade will make Cowboys fans sick.''
Wow. That's pretty incendiary. What, exactly, is this disease about?
Murray is a starting linebacker and a playmaker ... who a year ago was deemed worthy of a two-year, $15.5 million deal in Tennessee. In 2025, Dallas will pay him $7.75 million.
Is this good? Because we want Jerry to spend, right?
Nope. this isn't good, either, we're told, either, because PFF gives Murray a low grade.
So ... we hate Jerry and Stephen and we demand that they spend, move, trade, sign.
But when they do ... we hate Jerry and Stephen even more?
Got it.
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This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 7:37 AM.