This year's NFL trade deadlines falls on Halloween. When the clock strikes 12 on the trade market, the Dallas Cowboys should be buyers. The Cowboys have shown both Super Bowl upside and seen serious deficiencies exploited early in the 2023 NFL season. With major needs on both offense and defense, these three players could be the additions that help the Cowboys take a step forward at the deadline.
3. Kyzir White: LB, Arizona Cardinals
Jonathan Gannon brought ex-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Kyzir White with him to Arizona after he landed the head coaching job in the desert. White wasn't a highly lauded acquisition for the struggling franchise. He garnered a modest two-year, $10 million deal. Since following Gannon to Phoenix, White has been worth far more to the Cards.
White leads the Cardinals in overall tackling and ranks second amongst Arizona defenders with five tackles for loss. He has also added a pair of sacks to his 2023 resume, plus an interception that Cowboys fans will remember as the game-sealing play in Dallas' Week 3 loss to the Cardinals. Statistics aside, White is the field general for a young Cardinals defense. White is a captain and wears a green dot on his helmet as Arizona's defensive signal-caller. The veteran's presence in the middle of the field has meant a lot to a franchise currently weathering a rebuild.
The Cowboys recently lost their own field general, Leighton Vander Esch. Vander Esch's neck injury will sideline him for weeks, and even when he comes back, the Cowboys will still have to solve their run defense woes. White is a three-down linebacker with proven leadership ability and could help the Cowboys tremendously both in the short term and in the long run whenever Vander Esch is able to return to the field.
2. DeAndre Hopkins: WR, Tennessee Titans
Yes, the D-Hop to Dallas train is gathering steam once again. The Cowboys were one of DeAndre Hopkins' top suitors this offseason, but the talent-starved Tennessee Titans outbid them. A few weeks into the season, the Titans sit in last place in the AFC South, Hopkins has broken 70 receiving yards in a game only once this season, and quarterback Ryan Tannehill struggled mightily before suffering a high-ankle sprain in the Titans' Week 6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
2023 couldn't be off to a much worse start for the Titans. The AFC South is weak enough that their season isn't over just yet, but it's hard to envision them sneaking into the playoffs and almost impossible to imagine them having much success if they do. The Cowboys, meanwhile, could feel much differently about the value of Hopkins' services after watching their own offense sputter in spite of marquee offseason acquisition Brandin Cooks.
Hopkins' cap hit for the 2023 season is just under $4 million. That number skyrockets to almost $16 million in 2024, but if the Cowboys don't want to pay for Hopkins' services any longer, they can cut him for less than $2 million in dead cap. This is a player that the Cowboys can afford. The front office might have felt they could do without paying for Hopkins' services before this season started, but they were wrong. The Cowboys desperately need a talent infusion at wide receiver, and Hopkins fits the bill.
1. Davante Adams: WR, Las Vegas Raiders
It has been five years since the Dallas Cowboys saved their 2018 season by delivering a first-round pick to the then-Oakland Raiders for Amari Cooper. Cooper went on to be one of the most productive pass catchers in football over a four-year stint with America's Team. In 2023, the Raiders are once again trending toward selling at the deadline, and the Cowboys are once again looking to bolster an underwhelming offense.
Money is a serious confounding factor in any prospective trade the Cowboys could do for Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams. The 30-year-old Adams is in the second year of a five-year, $140 million megadeal with the Raiders. His cap hit in 2023 is nearly $15 million and only goes up from there. If the Cowboys made the financial commitment required to bring Adams over, it could very well mean CeeDee Lamb walks out the door in free agency.
But make no mistake: acquiring Adams is the best move the Cowboys could possibly make to improve their team in 2023. Adams and McCarthy know each other well from their days in Green Bay, and a 1-2 punch of Adams and Lamb at wide receiver would be the best in the league by a wide margin. The only question is whether or not the Cowboys can afford what Adams costs.
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