As we near the trade deadline, there are tons of possible trades being floated around here like candy on Halloween. Don’t get me wrong – I would like to see this roster upgraded, but there are upsides and downsides to making trades.
POSITIVES
- If you can acquire a player or two that can improve your roster and competitiveness, you should do it.
- A trade can energize the team’s psyche when they feel the front office is working hard to make the team better.
- You can occasionally make a good trade without giving up too much.
- The Cowboys have some day 2 and 3 draft picks that could be used as attractive trade bait.
NEGATIVES
- Trades in today’s NFL aren’t as easy as it often appears. Trading for a player requires ensuring their existing contract will allow the cap requirements to still work.
- There are usually 3 reasons a team wants to trade a player:
- 1. They are are off loading contracts or aging veterans in the midst of a rebuild.
- 2. The player being traded has become a locker room or off field issue and the team is tired of it.
- 3. The player being traded isn’t that good anymore.
- If you can acquire a player who is under contract for more than the rest of this season, it‘s better. Otherwise the trade just becomes a short term rental.
- The acquisition of talent alone is not going to fix your problems. The traded player has to be able to quickly assimilate to the team’s scheme’s and locker room. And this team’s offensive scheme needs ton of help regardless of who’s playing.
So…like many here I would like to see the Cowboys acquire a player or two before the deadline (esp a RB and LB) if the price is right and the player(s) have more value than just this season.
Discuss this on CowboysZone (37 comments)
