The NFL trade deadline saw top defensive players like Marshon Lattimore, Tre’Davious White and Za’Darius Smith dealt to contenders. But there was a far less consequential move earlier in the day that grabbed everyone’s attention.
Because the Dallas Cowboys — the 3-5 Cowboys, the team that just lost Dak Prescott for multiple weeks with a hamstring injury, you know, those Cowboys — gave up a fourth-round draft pick for a fifth-string receiver.
Officially, Dallas acquired wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a 2025 seventh-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2025 fourth-rounder. And the team was promptly roasted on social media and the ESPN airwaves for one of the most perplexing football trades in recent memory.
This latest head-shaking decision is a reminder that Jerry Jones, to put it politely, has different ways of doing things than the other 31 NFL front offices. Ask any Cowboys fan who has shared a “Fire the GM, Jerry!” meme or waved a sign. They know that in reality, this frustration in Dallas won’t change for as long as Jones runs the team.
If Jonathan Mingo himself is reading this, I hope he knows I’m not mad at him, specifically. How could I be mad at someone I had never heard of before Tuesday?
Defenders of the Cowboys can argue that Mingo is young and the trade is a bet on his potential—he was a second-round pick in 2023, after all. But Mingo is not just anonymous; he’s been flat-out uninspiring. He has played 24 games in his first two seasons with Carolina and has never reached the end zone. Of all NFL receivers since the start of 2023, Mingo is tied for the fewest yards per target at 4.9, according to ESPN.
And yet the Cowboys gave up more to acquire Mingo than they received when trading an in-his-prime Amari Cooper to the Browns in 2022.
Jones’ front office malfeasance also extends to what the Cowboys didn’t do at the deadline. The second-worst rushing team in the NFL had an opportunity to trade for a young running back like Khalil Herbert of the Bears, someone they were linked to for weeks. Dallas prioritized receiver depth instead, despite knowing that in the short term, the passing game will be hindered by Prescott’s absence and the rushing attack will be paramount.
Acquiring a running back would have served to relieve another Jones blunder, which was to bring back an old, unmotivated Ezekiel Elliott after letting Tony Pollard walk in free agency. Elliott did not travel with the team for Sunday’s game at the Falcons, reportedly for disciplinary reasons, as he’s missed or been late for a number of team meetings.
Listen, I know it’s hard for Cowboys fans to watch their team toss away a middle-round pick for an unproven wide receiver when the Chiefs spent a fifth-rounder for the likes of DeAndre Hopkins. But chasing an older guy like Hopkins is a win-now move. The Cowboys, in their current state, are as far away from win-now mode as possible.
So Jones overpaid for a guy who, at best, develops into a helpful piece one or more years down the line. Jones got what he really wanted—sometime in the news cycle on deadline day. And all press is good press to Jones, “Fire the GM” shirts be damned.
