NFC North Notes: Bears, Vikings, McManus
Tom Brady recently said the Bears were on his free agency radar four years ago. Although one fall 2020 report indicated Chicago had indeed waded into the Brady market, Bears chairman George McCaskey confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Courtney Cronin) the team did participate in a stealth operation to bring in Brady.
“Anytime you’re in a situation like that you’re not putting all of your eggs in one basket,” McCaskey said. “You’re looking at alternatives. It’s the same in free agency, it’s the same in the draft. If the person you’re targeting isn’t available, you want to make sure that you’ve done your due diligence on all other options. So that was one option that we were looking at.”
The Bears’ alternative that year became a Nick Foles trade. Foles did replace Mitch Trubisky for a stretch during the latter’s contract year, but the former No. 2 overall pick took his job back to help a defense-powered Chicago roster back to the playoffs. The Bears have since drafted two more quarterbacks — Justin Fields, Caleb Williams — in Round 1, as Brady retired (for good, thanks to his Raiders ownership agreement being approved) after a successful Tampa stay.
Here is the latest from the NFC North:
- Playing well at guard after an injury-plagued rookie year at tackle, Teven Jenkins makes sense as a Bears extension candidate. The Ryan Poles regime did not draft Jenkins — a 2021 second-round pick — but the GM has paid Ryan Pace-era pickups Jaylon Johnson and Cole Kmet. Jenkins has confirmed he approached Bears brass about a second contract, but that has been on hold for a while. Chicago’s Week 7 bye loomed as the next window for a Jenkins deal. Jenkins also has not generated too much momentum early in his contract year, missing time because of rib and ankle injuries. As such, it would be surprising — per The Athletic’s Kevin Fishbain— if the Bears engaged in serious extension talks with Jenkins’ camp this week. Pro Football Focus still views Jenkins as a higher-end guard, ranking him in the top 20 after slotting the Oklahoma State alum as a top-15 option in 2022 and ’23.
- The Vikings have Cam Akers back in the fold, agreeing to a late-round pick-swap trade to acquire the running back for a second straight season. This will be Kevin O’Connell‘s third stint with the former Rams second-round pick. Despite the second Akers-O’Connell partnership ending with the running back sustaining the second Achilles tear of his career, ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert notes the Vikings attempted to re-sign him before training camp. Akers opted for a Texans offer instead and did enough filling in for Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce to entice O’Connell and Co. to bring him back.
- Jordan Addison was arrested on DUI charges in August, putting the second-year wide receiver on a path toward a suspension. The Vikings pass catcher appears a good bet to play most of this season, as ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert notes his court date has been moved to Dec. 3. Addison had been scheduled to appear in court Monday.
- Not charged with a crime, Brandon McManus saw a civil suit lead to his exit from Washington. The NFL had ruled the veteran kicker would not be suspended as a result of the suit — one filed by two flight attendants part of a crew on a Jaguars London flight last year — and both McManus’ attorney and counsel for the plaintiffs confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Rob Demovsky) the matter has been resolved. Neither party indicated if the resolution came via settlement or a judge dismissing the women’s suit. McManus was accused of sexual assault in the suit; he denied any wrongdoing. The former Broncos and Jaguars kicker will now be asked to step in for a Packers team that has been unable to find a reliable option post-Mason Crosby.
Steelers C Zach Frazier Facing Multi-Week Absence
As the Steelers determine their Week 7 quarterback, Justin Fields or Russell Wilson will be taking snaps from a different center. Zach Frazier will become the second Steelers center this season to miss time.
A second-round rookie, Frazier stepped into Pittsburgh’s starting lineup due to Nate Herbig‘s rotator cuff tear in August. Frazier has started the team’s first six games, but an ankle injury will sideline the rookie for a bit. While officially given a week-to-week timetable, Frazier will miss multiple games, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac.
Frazier’s earliest return window looks to be after Pittsburgh’s Week 9 bye. A Week 10 return would allow the Steelers to avoid using an injury activation, as Frazier would miss just two games. An IR placement would knock Frazier out until Week 12, and Dulac did not confirm Frazier would be set to return in Week 10. If Frazier is indeed expected to miss more time following the bye week, the Steelers will assuredly consider placing him on IR this weekend.
This has not been a good year for Steelers O-line health, yet the team has withstood these maladies to start 4-2. Frazier’s injury follows Troy Fautanu‘s more significant setback. The first-round rookie tackle is out for at least the entire regular season, having seen a multi-injury year lead to what may well be a lost season. Fautanu is not out of the picture for the playoffs, though Herbig is on season-ending IR. The Steelers also did not have Isaac Seumalo in their lineup until Week 5. They did not use IR for the left guard, but he still missed four games. To top this off, contract-year right guard James Daniels is out for the season with an Achilles tear.
Among Steelers starters, only Dan Moore Jr. will enter Week 7 having not missed any time this season. Broderick Jones, who has started five games, has also appeared in all six. Frazier’s absence will lead to Ryan McCollum starting, Mike Tomlin said this week. A 2021 Texans UDFA who caught on with the Steelers in 2022, McCollum has played in all six Pittsburgh games this season. The 26-year-old blocker has made one career start — with the Lions three years ago — and did not see any game action in 2022 or ’23.
Patriots WR Kendrick Bourne Generating Trade Interest?
For sheer consistency, Kendrick Bourne can hold his own with the likes of Courtland Sutton and Denzel Mims in terms of trade rumor volume. As both those wideouts came up across multiple years, Bourne saw his name thrown into rumors in 2022 and 2023.
The 49ers also discussed a Bourne reunion with the Patriots — as part of Brandon Aiyuk trade talks that also included Sutton — this summer. While Bourne re-signed with the Patriots in March, he looks to be back on the trade radar. As the Pats have struggled since their season-opening win over the Bengals, the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed notes Bourne has again come up in trade rumors.
Like Sutton, trade buzz has followed Bourne in each of the past three years. The Patriots re-signed Bourne to a three-year, $19.5MM deal. That pact came with only $5.5MM guaranteed at signing, as an ACL tear cut short Bourne’s promising 2023 season. The Patriots activated Bourne from their reserve/PUP list in Week 5. He has started slowly on his second Pats contract, catching three passes for 15 yards in two games.
Bourne, 29, is the Pats’ longest-tenured receiver, having initially arrived in Foxborough as part of Bill Belichick‘s uncharacteristic spending spree in 2021. With Matt Judon traded, only Bourne and Hunter Henry remain from that free agency haul. Despite leading the Patriots in receiving when he went down last season, Bourne has operated as a backup thus far this year. As Bourne reacclimates, the Pats have seen younger wideouts Demario Douglas and Kayshon Boutte show some promise. Now that Drake Maye is at the controls for a 1-5 team, it will make sense for the Pats to give their young receivers plenty of run.
Though, Bourne can also work as a potential security blanket for the No. 3 overall pick. Jerod Mayo also recently called Bourne one of the team’s top three wide receivers. The Patriots made Bourne available in 2022, when he fell into Belichick’s doghouse, and calls came in again in 2023 — both in August and October. Bourne sustained his knee injury two days before last year’s deadline. Bourne has nevertheless persisted, being one of many Belichick additions to remain in the Pats’ plans under new front office boss Eliot Wolf.
More Patriots figure to come up before the deadline, as Wolf will undoubtedly be interested in adding draft capital to help this rebuild. Based on history, it would surprise if Bourne’s name did not continue to be mentioned.
Bills Add K Lucas Havrisik To Practice Squad
A Bills kicker workout will lead to Tyler Bass competition. Lucas Havrisik has secured another opportunity, latching on with Buffalo’s practice squad Thursday.
Bass has missed three field goals this season, all from between 40 and 49 yards, and memorably missed a game-tying kick — albeit in windy conditions — in that range that would have potentially forced overtime against the Chiefs in the divisional round. While Bills GM Brandon Beane has offered a vote of confidence, the Bills have a backup plan in place.
Havrisik spent part of last season as the Rams’ kicker, but the team waived him just before the playoffs. A reserve/futures deal with the Browns did not lead to a spot on their 53-man roster out of training camp, but the Bills will offer an opportunity. Havrisik, 25, was not part of Buffalo’s kicker audition last month; Anders Carlson and Cade York took part in that mid-September workout.
A former Browns UDFA, Havrisik landed in Los Angeles once the Rams signed him off Cleveland’s P-squad. He made 15 of 20 field goals last season, albeit playing in a friendlier home environment compared to what Bass has dealt with in Buffalo, but struggled down the stretch. Havrisik missed field goals in consecutive games before shanking two extra points in Week 17 in New York. The Rams cut him and moved back to Brett Maher, who kicked in their wild-card outing.
An Arizona product from Riverside, Calif., Havrisik does not have too much experience kicking in cold weather — at least, not compared to Bass. The Bills signed Bass to a four-year, $20.4MM extension in 2023. No guaranteed money remains on the deal beyond 2024. Bass, 27, has been Buffalo’s kicker for the past five seasons. The Bills chose him in the 2020 sixth round out of Georgia Southern.
Bass signed his extension after making more than 87% of his field goal tries in 2021 and ’22. This preceded a 4-for-6 season from beyond 50 yards last year. But Bass joined Greg Zuerlein in struggling Monday on a windy night. Before Bass’ Chiefs miss, he also made just 1 of 3 attempts in the Bills’ wild-card win over the Steelers. After six more games of evidence this season, the Bills are preparing to move on if need be.
Titans To Release S Jamal Adams
Jamal Adams‘ 29th birthday will involve a morning release. The veteran safety is out in Tennessee, with the Titans moving on after barely using the former All-Pro.
Adams requested to be moved, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter. As a vested veteran cut before the trade deadline, Adams will head straight to free agency. Starting one game, Adams played all of 20 defensive snaps with the Titans this season.
The Titans are removing Adams from their reserve/NFI list, having placed him on that particular injured list late last week. Adams did not generate much of a market in the wake of his Seahawks exit, and while the former top-10 pick will likely present some degree of intrigue as a free agent in-season, he has not delivered a productive year since 2021.
Sustaining a season-ending quad injury in Week 1 of the 2022 season, Adams did not make it too far on a then-safety-record extension. The former Jets All-Pro only suited up for nine games last year. Although the Seahawks — now employing a new coaching staff — showed interest in a reunion after cutting him, Adams confirmed he was asked to play linebacker. That move would not have been too far out of step from his previous box role in Seattle, which allowed him to set a DB record with 9.5 sacks in 2020. But he did not come particularly close to justifying the Seahawks’ trade, which sent the Jets two first-round picks earlier in 2020.
The Titans signed both Adams and Quandre Diggs, reuniting the Seahawks starters, this summer. Adams signed first, but Diggs — a more traditional safety who signed for more money ($3MM to $1.29MM) — has seen more playing time in Tennessee. Diggs has started all five Titans games this season, joining holdover Amani Hooker as first-string safeties for Brian Callahan‘s team.
Adams did not start the 2023 season on time and ended it on the shelf due to a knee injury. He also considered retirement amid the lengthy rehab effort that left him off the field for more than a year. It appears Adams wants another shot, but he has not generated any momentum since that quad injury sidetracked his career.
Raiders Not Open To Maxx Crosby Trade
Antonio Pierce‘s early stretch as the Raiders’ full-time HC is going worse than his interim period began. The team is 2-4 and has lost one-sided matchups to the Broncos and Steelers in successive weeks. Pierce has benched Gardner Minshew, and the Raiders signed off on their long-rumored Davante Adams trade Tuesday.
Teams will undoubtedly be checking in to see if the Raiders are interesting in selling other pieces. One player who will not be available: Maxx Crosby. Although Las Vegas is struggling, Crosby represents a foundational piece and would be on track for an extension — potentially as soon as 2025.
“It’s unfortunate today, but there’s so much outside chatter that is not true,” Davis said, via The Athletic’s Vic Tafur and Tashan Reed (subscription required). “It’s not coming from any sources. It’s not coming from anything. My basic thing is never to answer all that stuff because, otherwise, you get trapped in this black hole. It’s just not happening.”
Easily the best move from the second Jon Gruden era, the Raiders chose Crosby in the 2019 fourth round. The Eastern Michigan product has been a revelation, leading the NFL in tackles for loss in 2022 and ’23. The Raiders extended their standout edge rusher in 2022, and their decision to authorize what amounted to a $6MM raise this offseason effectively points to a longer-term commitment — as opposed to a player the team would consider dealing before the deadline. Crosby also received a $1.2MM bump for 2025; his four-year, $98.98MM contract runs through 2026.
Crosby came up in trade rumors before last year’s deadline as well; teams called to gauge the Silver and Black’s interest in moving their best player. Despite another slow start, Las Vegas is prepared to pass. Crosby, 27, is leading the NFL in TFLs this season as well. He has tallied nine, with 5.5 sacks to go along with that impressive total.
The Raiders have shuffled through Crosby complementary pieces, sending out Yannick Ngakoue after one season and cutting Chandler Jones following a series of strange developments surrounding the 2022 free agency addition. Would-be starter Malcolm Koonce is out for the season. A top-10 pick in 2023, Tyree Wilson has started one game this season and has yet to record a sack or a tackle for loss. Yet, Crosby continues to produce. With Adams now gone, there is no question who the Raiders’ top player is. And the team intends to maintain this beyond 2024. Crosby is interested in a full-career Raiders run, having said as much this summer.
Teams calling about Raiders could look to Josh McDaniels-era pickup Jakobi Meyers, who is signed through 2025, and contract-year DBs Nate Hobbs and Tre’von Moehrig. With McDaniels and Dave Ziegler still in charge last year, the team rebuffed the 49ers’ interest in Hobbs. But the established cornerback being unsigned beyond 2021 will naturally invite interest from coverage-needy clubs. A team in need of a backup or an emergency starter could also call on Minshew, who is signed through 2025 but has $3.16MM in guaranteed salary (as part of an $11.84MM base, since the team has pivoted to Aidan O’Connell already.
Kevin Stefanski: Ownership Not Mandating Deshaun Watson Starts
Among qualified starting quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson ranks last in QBR. The Browns are riding an 0-for-26 streak on third down with Watson at the controls. The high-priced passer’s struggles have defined this Browns season and most of the past three, though this year has brought a new low for on-field performance.
As a result of Watson’s poor play, Kevin Stefanski has needed to provide weekly status updates on his starter. The recently extended Browns HC has continued to respond in the affirmative regarding Watson’s starting role, though he has since been asked to clarify if higher-ranking members of the organization are insisting the embattled quarterback stay in the lineup.
Stefanski said recently that he and Andrew Berry discuss decisions with ownership, and while the fifth-year GM should be expected to have a key voice in how his head coach constructs his starting lineup, a question was posed to Stefanski regarding ownership’s role in the Watson matter.
“I don’t get caught up in narratives, but we have a good dialogue with myself, Andrew, ownership about all things that have to do with this team,” Stefanski said, via ESPN.com’s Daniel Oyefusi. “They’ve been nothing but supportive, and any decision when it comes to football is my decision.”
Seeing his offense work best with Joe Flacco and Baker Mayfield (the 2020 version, at least), Stefanski has been unable to tailor it to Watson’s skills. At this point, however, it is fair to question whether Watson would succeed in any offense. A three-time Pro Bowler with the Texans, Watson drew a bidding war that also included the Falcons, Panthers and Saints being willing to trade what the Browns ultimately gave up. In addition to becoming the first team since the 1976 49ers to trade three first-round picks for a veteran quarterback, the Browns also authorized an outlier guarantee ($230MM) for a player who had signed a Texans extension in September 2020.
That guarantee drove Watson to Ohio, rather than Georgia. The results have been borderline catastrophic, and if Watson cannot turn things around quickly, the Browns face an albatross unlike anything previously seen in NFL history. Furthermore, cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot adds Berry and Stefanski were aligned on the decision to pursue Watson. While it may well seem like this scenario was forced upon Stefanski, Mayfield had trudged through an injury-plagued 2021 season that brought another step back for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Stefanski is now a two-time NFL Coach of the Year, receiving that honor for coaching Mayfield to a 2020 bounce-back slate — after the 2019 Freddie Kitchens experiment bombed — and then again after Flacco’s stunning resurgence occurred despite widespread injuries on offense. It would stand to reason Jimmy and Dee Haslam would trust Stefanski with this decision, seeing as both he and Berry received offseason extensions.
This Browns staff also pushed for Jameis Winston over Flacco this offseason, with the reigning Comeback Player of the Year not receiving a Browns offer. Winston has 80 starts on his resume from his time in Tampa and New Orleans. Stefanski continues to keep the door closed on Winston stepping in for the struggling Watson.
Though, this is a unique situation due to Watson’s contract, which Berry has now twice restructured. Jimmy Haslam credited Berry with the idea to fully guarantee Watson’s contract back in 2022. While Berry has built an otherwise strong roster, it is now worth wondering — thanks to Watson’s current form — if he could be in danger of following Jon Robinson and Steve Keim as recent GMs to sign extensions only to be fired later that year. No rumors have come out suggesting Berry or Stefanski is in danger, but the longer this goes, the more ownership will want answers for why the historically costly transaction has not panned out.
Watson also recently settled with the latest woman to accuse him of sexual assault, lessening the chances he would face a second suspension. Roger Goodell said (via The Associated Press’ Rob Maaddi) the league is still reviewing the matter, however. Watson needed to have informed the Browns of this incident in order for his future guarantees to be protected. A second ban is about the only chance the Browns have of escaping the guarantees, which are still in place for 2025 and 2026. Thanks to the second restructure, Watson is set to carry cap numbers of $72.9MM in each of those years.
It would cost the Browns a record-obliterating — which is saying something after the Broncos’ Russell Wilson release — $172MM in dead money to cut Watson in 2025. While Nick Chubb is set to make his season debut in Week 7 and the Browns have been without starting O-linemen often this season, it is difficult to find optimism. The team traded Amari Cooper on Tuesday, worsening Watson’s situation. At 1-5, Cleveland may well consider more seller’s moves before the Nov. 5 deadline.
Lions Check In On Jets’ Haason Reddick
Aidan Hutchinson‘s gruesome injury gives the Lions a clear need as they continue to move toward Super Bowl contention. Nearly three weeks remain until the trade deadline, and Detroit has now touched base with the top edge rusher available.
The Lions have checked in with Haason Reddick‘s camp, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. While this could qualify as due diligence, the Lions make sense as a Reddick landing spot. The Jets gave the holdout edge rusher permission to seek a trade, doing so shortly after the sides had talked about a solution that brings him to New York.
At odds with the Jets since shortly after his arrival in late March, Reddick has passed on six game checks. The standout edge player is attached to a $14.5MM base salary, though the prorated amount is now just more than $9MM. The Lions held more than $28MM in cap space before their Alim McNeill extension; that number placed them in fourth in the NFL.
The Jets probably are not too keen on doing Reddick any favors by picking up some of his salary to facilitate a trade, but at this point, the team appears willing to see what can be had for the disgruntled edge performer. Reddick has sought a multiyear deal; the Jets have not budged and do not plan to. For an extended period, the Jets were not willing to discuss trading Reddick. This would bring a strange end to a chapter that has not reflected well on the team, but the earlier the Jets move on, the better their compensation stands to be. Reddick’s Eagles-constructed contract runs through season’s end, and the 30-year-old defender is running the risk of minimizing his 2025 free agent market by staying off the field.
Reddick’s 50.5 sacks from 2020-23 rank fourth in the NFL. The Lions have run into issues in terms of Hutchinson complementary players for most of the star defender’s tenure. Now that the league’s 2024 sack leader is gone (almost definitely for the season), it stands to reason Detroit will need more help.
“Look, we’re open to anything. Brad’s working through it,” Dan Campbell said of GM Brad Holmes. “We are not going to be in a hurry. Brad would tell you — man, he’s doing his homework. The crew is doing their homework. They’re looking at everything. But we’re not just going to make a move to make it. It’s got to be right. It’s got to be the right guy and the pieces have to fall in place.”
The Lions signed Marcus Davenport to a one-year, $6.5MM deal and still roster the likes of Josh Paschal and James Houston. Of that trio, only Davenport has a sack. The oft-injured former first-rounder has tallied a half-sack and is on IR, where he spent most of his Vikings tenure. Hutchinson’s 7.5 lead the Lions by five, highlighting the need — despite Campbell’s comments conveying patience.
Reddick would check this box quickly, though the Lions authorizing another extension — for a player who has not played since an Eagles wild-card loss — would be unexpected. The Jets offered Reddick multiple deals that sweetened his 2024 salary, but in viewing the team has having reneged on a pledge to conduct true extension talks, the D-end stayed away from the team for months.
The Lions have already paid Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Penei Sewell, David Montgomery and McNeill this year. Would they be willing to fit in a Reddick payment if it meant a better chance at the first Super Bowl berth in team history?
Giants LT Andrew Thomas Out For Season
4:19pm: The Giants have since placed Thomas on IR, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. Regarding a replacement plan, Ezeudu will indeed have the first chance. No firm plan appears to exist, but the New York Post’s Paul Schwartz indicates Ezeudu worked as the team’s first-string LT in practice while Eluemunor remained at RT.
9:12am: After playing through a significant foot injury to close out the Giants’ Sunday-night matchup, Andrew Thomas has opted for surgery. As a result, the talented left tackle is not expected to return in 2024.
Thomas suffered a Lisfranc injury, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports the fifth-year blocker’s Charlotte trip has led to a surgery. This procedure will force the Giants into other options, removing an otherwise healthy unit’s best player. The Giants feared this outcome, and they will now be faced with playing 11 games without an All-Pro blocker.
Sustaining the injury during a third-quarter drive, Thomas did not miss a snap during the Giants’ loss to the Bengals. He indicated an issue postgame, however, and the Giants will need to regroup after seeing their Thomas-Jon Runyan Jr..-John Michael Schmitz–Greg Van Roten–Jermaine Eluemunor line not miss any snaps this season. Although the Giants’ line is much healthier than it was at this point last year, Thomas’ injury deals a crushing blow to the unit.
Thomas, 25, signed a five-year, $117.5MM extension just before training camp last year. He joined Dexter Lawrence and Daniel Jones as Dave Gettleman-era acquisitions paid during the Joe Schoen GM regime. While Lawrence has become one of the NFL’s best defensive tackles, Jones and Thomas have run into steady injury issues that have slowed them. This is Thomas’ most notable injury as a pro, and it both casts doubt about his long-term durability and the capability of New York’s O-line moving forward this season.
Last season, a hamstring injury sidelined Thomas — a second-team All-Pro in 2022 — for seven games. An earlier return was expected, but the former No. 4 overall pick sustained a setback during his rehab process. Thomas has also undergone two ankle surgeries previously, though he only missed three games due to injury prior to last last season. The Giants will hope for a smooth recovery, but by season’s end, they will have seen the standout Georgia product miss 18 games since signing his extension.
The Giants used Joshua Ezeudu as Thomas’ primary replacement last season, and the 2022 third-round pick — a converted guard — has been the team’s swingman this year. New York initially turned to Ezeudu when Evan Neal was in place at right tackle. Neal has been a healthy scratch this season, seeing poor play and extensive rehab sidetrack his career. The Giants have installed Eluemunor at RT; the recent Raiders starter was initially set to play left guard on a first-string line including Neal. The Giants changed that plan early in training camp, as Neal was not yet ready to debut.
It would stand to reason Ezeudu would receive the first crack at replacing Thomas. Neal could factor in, and this injury would at least position him to receive a game uniform again. Eluemunor does have a history at left tackle, playing on the blind side sparingly during his career. Though, the recent free agency pickup has never played more than 200 snaps at LT in a season. He did see time there for the Patriots and Raiders, but the Giants had viewed the journeyman best at LG or RT.
Ezeudu made five starts at left tackle last season but went down with a season-ending toe injury. Thomas reclaimed his starting gig soon after, but the Giants will need to turn to either Ezeudu or Neal — potentially in a scenario in which Eluemunor changes positions for a second time this year — to replace their anchor. Either way, the team is likely set to see a steep downgrade from Thomas.
Cowboys Not Expected To Be Active At Trade Deadline
Jerry Jones has continually been asked to explain his franchise’s 2024 inaction regarding outside augmentations. Most recently, the longtime Cowboys owner/de facto GM fired back at radio hosts — during his 105.3 The Fan appearance — when this topic came up.
Issues at running back and at both defensive end and defensive tackle have come up since training camp, with the pass-catching situation beyond CeeDee Lamb being an issue essentially since the team’s post-Amari Cooper offense revealed itself. The Cowboys checked on Davante Adams but quickly bowed out when it became clear the Raiders wanted a team to pick up his full salary.
The Cowboys still managed a 12-5 record in each of the post-Cooper seasons, but they have been on the wrong side of two NFC blowouts this year and sit 3-3 after the second — a 47-9 Lions dismantling — brought more concerns about Mike Zimmer‘s defense.
Jones already responded in the negative when asked about potential coaching or coordinator changes, showing faith this batch will craft a turnaround. Though, the owner already put Mike McCarthy in a rare lame-duck season due to how poorly the team played in a wild-card loss to Green Bay. As far as roster improvements at the deadline, however, Cowboys fans should not be expecting much. Jones told The Athletic’s Dianna Russini the team will not be active in deals before the Nov. 5 deadline.
Although the Cowboys beat the Bills by six years in trading for Cooper to spark a midseason turnaround, Jones said this Dallas team has “great personnel” and is not leaning toward an aggressive direction he once did. The Cowboys then considered the 2019 receiver free agent class to be shaky, leading to the team giving up a first-rounder for Cooper. That acquisition helped Jones’ perception given what happened following the Joey Galloway and Roy Williams trades. The Raiders import helped turn Jason Garrett‘s team from 3-4 to a making a divisional-round appearance.
That round has been a rather infamous stage for Jones’ franchise in the years since Super Bowl XXX, as the team’s streak of seasons without an NFC championship game berth has reached 28. Thanks to the Lions’ cameo last season, only Washington surpasses Dallas’ run of active seasons without an NFC title game berth. McCarthy has gone 36-15 during the past three regular seasons but is now 1-3 in the playoffs in his second-chance HC gig.
Zimmer’s defense, which has played the past two games without Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence while going the full season without DaRon Bland, ranks 27th in DVOA. More damning, McCarthy and Brian Schottenheimer‘s offense is 25th despite Lamb’s big- ticket extension and Dak Prescott‘s market-resetting payday hours before Week 1’s kickoff. Following those deals, the Cowboys hold $21.7MM in cap space — seventh-most in the NFL. They are in the bottom 10 for projected 2025 cap space, however, and Parsons will then be due a monster extension.
The Cowboys ranked first in scoring offense last season; they now sit 19th. The run game, which the team did not reinforce this offseason, ranks last in total yardage and YPC (3.5). Dallas added Dalvin Cook to its practice squad but has yet to elevate the former Vikings 1,000-yard rusher. Jones has famously said he could not afford Derrick Henry, to whom the Cowboys were connected dating back to 2023, but beyond the Ezekiel Elliott signing (which has produced scant production), the team punted on the backs in free agency and did not draft one. Pro Football Focus also ranks the Cowboys’ O-line 22nd after Week 6.
Although Parsons will have a chance to come back in Week 7, both Lawrence and second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland have gone down with injuries expected to sideline them into November. Third-year DE Sam Williams is out for the season. The Cowboys signed K.J. Henry off the Bengals’ practice squad, doing so after trading for Jordan Phillips (now on IR) and signing Linval Joseph in August. Departing DC Dan Quinn also poached regulars Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler and Tyler Biadasz in free agency. Dallas’ run defense ranks 26th.
The collection of Cowboys rostered will face significant pressure following the team’s bye week, but Jones has said McCarthy is safe for at least this season. The team will begin its inward-focused post-bye mission in San Francisco.