Tag: 2024 Week 5

Yes, the Cowboys should call the Raiders about a trade for Davante Adams

Taking a look at what it would take to acquire the now available Davante Adams and how Dallas would look to make it work financially if interested. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Over the minibye, Cowboys Wire addressed the elephant in the room, how the Dallas Cowboys need to pursue help at the wide receiver position. Through four games, Brandin Cooks has not lived up to expectations, despite QB Dak Prescott currently ranking third in the NFL in passing yardage.

While Jalen Tolbert has shown a sign or two, he hasn’t provided enough evidence to crown him a proper compliment to CeeDee Lamb. That’s why we looked into the potential trades for Amari Cooper and Tee Higgins out of the AFC North, and DeAndre Hopkins out of the AFC South. With full intention to consider Davante Adams within an AFC West look, the Raiders are one step ahead, advertising terms they’d accept in an offer.

The Cowboys and Raiders have linked up in similar situations before, most famously when Dallas acquired Cooper in the middle of the 2018 season in exchange for a first-round pick.

The difference there is Cooper was much younger, 24 at the time compared to Adams current age of 32, and was on his rookie contract. Acquiring Adams comes with a heavy price tag as he has $74 million on the books for the 2025 and 2026 season, not to mention 7/9th of his $17 million 2024 salary remaining, about $13 million.

Could the Cowboys afford it? Yes. Cowboys Wire has highlighted that the cap situation for Dallas is well setup for next season, but it might not even come to that.

Those balloon salaries on the books for Oakland were all about achieving a talking point for Adams and his representatives, giving him an inflated annual value that Oakland never truly considered paying.

The money isn’t guaranteed, which means an acquiring team would be able to release Adams after this season and face no financial penalty, only the draft compensation they gave up.

Still, a second rounder for a one-season rental doesn’t seem wise. That’s not the only option though. An acquiring team could restructure Adams deal, add void years and stretch out his 2025 payment across multiple years to soften the initial blow. There are a bunch of accounting tools in place to allow NFL teams to absorb bad contracts and not reap all of the impact right away.

If the Cowboys were serious about contending in 2024, which is still a questionable assumption, then they would be considering adding someone of Adams caliber.

Even with the ridiculous QB situation in Oakland last year, he checked in with 1,144 receiving yards, 103 catches and eight touchdowns. That broke his streak of at least 1,300 receiving yards in three straight seasons. Adams can still play, and putting him opposite Lamb would immediately catapult Dallas’ offense back to the top of the league.

With injuries to Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence weakening an already suspect defense, the Cowboys may need to invest in their offense like never before.

Trading for Adams would certainly qualify.

Cooks production has decreased each week of the season, hauling in just one pass for 16 yards in the club’s Week 4 win in New York over the Giants. For the year, he has just nine receptions for 91 yards, but the bigger problem is that’s come on 19 targets. He and Prescott just aren’t in sync.

 

Cowboys need to prepare for Justin Fields with a hint of Russell Wison

The Steelers didn’t originally hitch their wagon to Fields, but circumstances have allowed the young QB to thrive in a new environment. | From @KDDrummondNFL

When the 2023 season came to an end, the Dallas Cowboys knew they’d be facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers at some point this season. In fact, because of divisional rotations, that’s been known for a while now. What remained unknown was which quarterback they’d have to defend against. After a couple years of trying to make Kenny Pickett a thing, it was clear Mike Tomlin and company would be going a different direction in 2024.

For much of the offseason, it appeared the quarterback Dallas would have to defend against would be former Super Bowl champion Russell Wilson, on his third team in three-plus years. After flaming out for much of his time in Denver, the Broncos ate a ridiculous amount of dead money and sent him packing. The Steelers grabbed him, but also traded for former No. 1 selection Justin Fields from Chicago.

Wilson has been Pittsburgh’s No. 1 QB, but a preseason injury gave Fields the starting gig, and it appears he’ll hold onto it for Week 5 despite Wilson’s improving health.


Fields hasnt exactly set the world on fire in the passing game, aside from his 312-yard Week 1 performance, but he’s been a steady hand under center for the Steelers, leading them to a 3-1 record. He’s thrown for 830 yards, three TDs and just one interception thus far this season, while maintain his dual-threat ability with 145 yards on the ground and another three scores.

Fields is currently the seventh-ranked QB in PFF’s passer rankings, grading out at a 78.1. His adjusted completion percentage (% of aimed passes thrown on target (completions + drops / aimed) ranks second among QBs with at least 90 snaps at 82%, as his stats are a bit muted based on a 6.1% drop rate from his targets.

He’s playing the position as well as he has in his entire career.

The Cowboys are just two weeks removed from facing, and being embarrassed by another AFC North opponent and their running QB, Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens. Fields is not on the same plateau of Jackson, but he presents a similar threat for a defense that is still trying to find their footing under new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer.

Fortunately Pittsburgh’s OC Arthur Smith doesn’t have roots in the Shanahan offensive system, but he is still going to present problems for a club that will be playing without their two starting edge rushers.

The Steelers haven’t outright committed to this being Fields’ show, but that may be out of respect for the veteran and what he’s accomplished in the league rather than there being a question truly attached. SIf Fields starts to struggle, then Tomlin has every avenue to pursue an improvement. Hopefully the Dallas defense will create that concern on Sunday night.