Jerry Jones gives Dak Prescott status a “thumbs up”, says Cowboys are “open for business” with trades

The Cowboys owner gave his thoughts during the Cowboys bye week.

It may be the bye week for the Dallas Cowboys, but there is never a bye week for Jerry Jones in regards to speaking to the media. That is one aspect of his job that he clearly enjoys. He made his regular appearance on 105.3 The Fan and shared some thoughts on a couple of important issues facing the Cowboys.

The biggest issue is obviously the status of starting quarterback Dak Prescott and his calf strain. Prescott injured his calf on the game-winning play against the New England Patriots last Sunday and was wearing a walking boot after the game. An MRI showed he suffered a calf strain, but the Cowboys have been portraying it as mild. With the bye week to heal, the hope is he won’t miss any time and will be ready for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 8.

Jerry Jones spoke briefly about that and the main take away is he thinks that Dak will be good to go.

“Big ole thumbs up,” said Jones of Prescott. “… I feel good about his status.”

Of course, this is what the Cowboys have been saying all week so nothing has changed. What will be interesting is when the Cowboys return to practice next Wednesday and whether Prescott returns to practice immediately or if he sits out for a bit

There is another issue facing all NFL teams coming soon, and that is the NFL trade deadline. That is on November 2nd. Jerry also commented on that and noted the Cowboys were open for business. He used the framing as they are always open for business, but added a detail that makes you think they could look to make a trade this year.

“Open for business year round,” Jones said. “… I think we’ve got a unique situation because we’ve got players coming that we’re going to have to have roster spot room for. So, we’re busy.”

That’s interesting. The Cowboys do have players coming back including some pretty big pieces in Michael Gallup, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Neville Gallimore. Only Gallup is expected to be back in the next week or so, but Gallup is also the subject of trade rumors, something that has been going on with him since he entered his contract year.

The Cowboys are going to have make roster room for returning players, and the way Jerry phrases that in his response definitely opens up the possibility of trades happening more than in an average year.

Gallup was recently named as one of the most likely players to be traded by ESPN, given his contract status, the Cowboys having Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb signed, and the recent emergence of Cedrick Wilson as a competent #3 receiver. Here is Todd Archer on the subject:

Would the Cowboys be able to swing a deal for an immediate need (cornerback, defensive tackle) or a potential draft pick? Gallup is a big-play threat and a great fit with Dak Prescott in the passing game, but Cedric Wilson has filled in nicely as the No. 3 receiver behind Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb. Of course, Wilson is set to be a free agent as well. Given the talent in the group, the Cowboys might be able to get something in return, but they wouldn’t want to walk away from Gallup.

Bleacher Report goes a little further and names actual potential targets at corner and defensive tackle.

Perhaps [Joe] Haden would be a more reasonable target for the Cowboys. Pittsburgh needs help at wide receiver following JuJu Smith-Schuster’s season-ending injury, and swapping Gallup for Haden could make sense.

Another area of need for the Cowboys is defensive tackle. Osa Odighizuwa has two sacks on the season, while the remainder of Dallas’ DTs have none. Ballentine named Detroit Lions DT Michael Brockers as a potential upgrade at the position.

Haden is in the last year of his contract so a trade for him would be two teams swapping players in contract years, although Haden is a much older player than Gallup. Brockers, on the other hand, is singed through the 2023 season (with an easy out after 2022), and would be an almost $9 million cap hit in 2022. That’s relatively expensive for the Cowboys at a position they rarely commit that much money to.

It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys move some players in an effort to go all-in on this year and bolster their roster for a Super Bowl run.