Three veterans the Dallas Cowboys could consider putting on the trade block

San Francisco 49ers v Dallas Cowboys — Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Will the Cowboys be active before the trade deadline?

To trade or not to trade, that is the question. From top to bottom the Dallas Cowboys current roster is talented enough they could simply stick with status quo and let the November 2 trade deadline pass them by. However, if they believe they are in win-now mode, they could decide to throw caution to the wind and facilitate a trade or two that would increase their chances of reaching the Super Bowl.

When it comes to Jerry Jones you can’t ever rule anything out. He could be looking to make another Amari Cooper-like trade to upgrade the team at a specific position. If true, we could see the Cowboys dangle a few of their veterans as trade bait in the hopes of landing a big fish. Luckily for them, they have some trade assets teams would be interested in.

Now, as talented as the Cowboys roster is they simply can’t afford to trade away one of their veterans without having a replacement already in place. That would be kind of like robbing Peter to pay Paul and would be counterproductive. That lessens the number of players they can put on the trade block, however, there are still a few candidates to consider.

Michael Gallup

Michael Gallup’s impact this year with the Cowboys has been close to nonexistent because of a calf strain sustained in Week 1. During his absence Cedrick Wilson has proven he’s capable of handling the WR3 job. Because of that, and the fact Gallup is in a contract year, he has been mentioned on a number of occasions as one of the Cowboys most likely trade assets.

While No. 13 would be a welcomed addition to Dallas’ offense when healthy, the Cowboys aren’t struggling without him. As such, he could be dangled as trade bait to try to upgrade another position elsewhere. As a pending free agent who will likely be playing elsewhere next year, the Cowboys may want to move him now if they truly are in win-now mode.

La’el Collins

Like Michael Gallup, we haven’t seen La’el Collins since Week 1 because of a five-game suspension he’s been serving. Terence Steele has been starting at right tackle during his absence and there hasn’t been much drop in production. Because of that, teams may be calling about Collins’ availability to see if they can pry him away from the Cowboys.

No. 71 doesn’t become a free agent until after the 2024 season, but his price tag over the next few years could be something the Cowboys could be willing to move on from. He’ll carry a cap number of $15.25 million in 2022 and 2023, but it decreases to $13.45 million in 2024. That’s something Dallas could take into consideration with the way Steele is playing.

Blake Jarwin

The Dallas Cowboys signed Blake Jarwin to a four-year, $22 million contract extension back in 2020 with the thought of him becoming Jason Witten’s full-time replacement as their starting tight end. Unfortunately, that never materialized and now he finds himself playing second fiddle to Dalton Schultz, who has emerged as one of the top TEs in the league.

While No. 89 has proven to be a pretty solid TE2, he’s not somebody they can’t replace relatively easy and save some money doing it. Sean McKeon is set to return from injured reserve and the Cowboys seem to really like him. Between McKeon and Jeremy Sprinkle, they could make Jarwin expendable if a team comes calling inquiring about his availability.