The spotlight of the league was turned toward the Dallas Cowboys six weeks ago in Oxnard, when the team christened the 2026 training camp by holding a press conference with coach Brian Schottenheimer, COO Stephen Jones and, of course, team owner Jerry Jones. And let’s face it: It was mostly about Jerry Jones, because when he took the microphone, he dropped some sizable nuggets, suggesting the Cowboys had a major trade in the hopper, and that the team had not given up on acquiring Raiders star Maxx Crosby.
Said Jones at the time: “I’d be very interested. I’d give up the future to substitute where we are today — as to a player — to give you an idea about what I’d invest, something substantive, to get the right kind of deal and improve us for Opening Day — I would.”
Cowboys Cleared Out Cap Space
But then again, we are just a few days away from the kickoff of the NFL season, and the Cowboys, in the end, did virtually nothing new. They signed veteran pass rusher Von Miller, but that is not the needle-moving transaction it seemed Jones was hinting it.
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And maybe they don’t need another transaction. Last week, when the Cowboys cleared out as much as $33 million in cap space with the restructuring of three contracts, speculation immediately turned to the possibility of a big trade ahead: Crosby, again, or perhaps another Dallas-area native, Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez. But team insiders quickly doused that speculation, saying that the cap space is most likely to be tucked away for next season.
‘Jerry Jones Set the Table’ for Cowboys Trade
But on Monday, NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated resurrected the notion of a big Cowboys trade ahead. It might not come until the trade deadline in November, and it might not be at any of the positions most think are the team’s weak spots.
Writes Breer: “Might the Cowboys have a big swing coming? Jerry Jones set the table for it at the start of camp. And though other people in the organization have told me since that he was freelancing on that one and they did not know it was coming, the logic behind such a move is actually there. The team has a really nice layer of talent, particularly on offense, in its starting 22. But it also lacks depth. And with left tackle Tyler Guyton now seemingly rebounding and some optimism that the pass rush might be OK, adding a difference-maker on defense, maybe at cornerback and/or another rusher, would make sense between now and the trade deadline. If, of course, such an opportunity arises.”
Jerry Jones Scouring NFL
Either way, the Cowboys, coming off of consecutive seven-win seasons, are entering 2026 with an excess of confidence, foreseeing the Super Bowl in the team’s future–with or without a trade. Jerry Jones can keep scouring the league, but there is belief in this group.
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Said Schottenheimer: “”If you take our roster from last year and you lay it down next to our roster from this year, there’s no question that the depth and the overall talent is higher. This is a good football team. We got a lot of confidence. We just got to make the right decisions as we get to cut-down day, which we will.”
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