Jason La Canfora: Who is Jerry Jones Hinting at Trading For?

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is one of the NFL’s greatest showmen, he is a marketer and salesman of the highest order, and one must be cognizant of that whenever he speaks.

Jones loves to make headlines and create waves when his team relocates to the outpost of Oxnard, California every July to set up shop for training camp. 

Their arrival must be proclaimed, and in years past his bold remarks often centered around a lingering contract situation (Dak Prescott), or a disgruntled superstar (Micah Parsons) or an unusual coaching hire. 

This summer, Jones’s primary talking point – his big tease – focused on someone not even under his employ, yet.

Jones, and his son Stephen, who oversee the roster and are more hands-on than any other owners in the league, are using any and every opportunity in front of the media to signal they want to make another splash with their roster.

They are trying to pull off a significant trade they believe can help them bring home the Lombardi Trophy missing in Dallas for a generation now. 

To be clear, because these two select the roster, they tend to think they are far closer to championship-quality every year than the rest of the league surmises, but their tone about this mystery trade is a very different page from their annual playbook.

“We think enough of our opportunity that we would use some of the future salary cap, some of the future draft consideration, some of the future, if you will (for a) trade asset,” Jones announced at his pre-camp press conference. “We would use some of it to add to this team right now.”

Hmm. So what’s he hinting at?

Is it merely a marketing ruse to reel in Cowboys fans and raise expectations, or will Jones make a splash? There are a few options that rival front offices believe he may have his sights on:

Maxx Crosby

The Raiders dominant edge defender (he’s more than just a passer rusher) was supposed to go to Baltimore for two first-round picks before the Ravens bailed on the trade. 

Crosby is returning from a knee clean-up surgery but he was cleared for football activities in camp. 

While the trade rumors have died down around him, it was right around this time a year ago that Jones, controversially, flipped Parsons to Green Bay, wounding an already bad Dallas defense that he is still trying to rectify.

Would the Raiders, riding high on positive vibes after a universally-approved offseason, still deal Crosby? Even after mending some fences with him? 

“They aren’t shopping him but that doesn’t mean they won’t trade him eventually” one GM remarked to me this summer.  

Another GM pointed out some of the unique dynamics between Jones and Raiders owner Mark Davis, with Jones playing a central role in the NFL’s ultimate moves to both the Los Angeles and Las Vegas markets.

Jones has a way of trying to cut out the middleman – be it an agent or in this case a general manager.

He tries to work his unique charms on someone he thinks he might be able to get one over on and he’s got a direct channel to Davis that even minority owner Tom Brady might not be able to short-circuit.

“Mark really wants to be Jerry,” the GM said, comparing the awkward owner, who inherited the team with the self-made billionaire and remains one of the biggest personalities in the league. 

I’m not convinced Jones would pay the price for this in cash and draft picks, but people are keeping a close eye.

Josh Sweat

This might be more of what Jones has in mind. Far lower price point across the board, far less risk and a player he watched wreck things during his time with the Eagles in the NFC East. As much as Jones wants people to believe he’s a big spender, he’s been more of a penny pincher the last six years.

Sweat has just a $10M base this season (Arizona already gave him a roster bonus) and then $17M each of the next two years. 

The Cardinals are rebuilding, they fired the head coach who recruited Sweat in free agency and are tanking for a top pick in 2027. They will probably give rookie QB Carson Beck (excellent preseason debut) a run this season. Sweat wants out, understandably so and produces elite pressure rates.

“This feels like something Jerry would do,” said one longtime NFL top personnel executive who has done deals with the Cowboys in the past. 

Former top NFL general manager Marty Hurney told me he believes Dallas is a Super Bowl contender now and moves like adding Sweat might put them over the top.

Sweat is on the ‘Physically Unable to Perform’ list with a minor knee issue but that’s seen by some around the league as a means to keep him healthy for trade.

Kayvon Thibodeaux

The former fifth-overall pick has been the subject of trade rumblings for years and he hasn’t lived up to his draft billing. 

He makes $15M this season and then is a free agent (though an expensive franchise tag could be applied). 

The Giants already traded dominant defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, and no one has given them an offer they can’t refuse on this edge rusher yet.

The fact they are division rivals doesn’t really matter, execs I spoke to, believe. 

You could get the sense, from the way both the Joneses spoke, that they were seeking more of a proven difference maker for their defense, but this wouldn’t be out of character for them, either.

What is clear is the player Jones has in mind. He says trade talks have already taken place, they’re probably a defender and most certainly a defensive lineman or outside linebacker. 

At age 83 (he turns 84 in October), Jones only has so many swings left at this, so we’re going to take him at least somewhat at his word.