Could the Dallas Cowboys trade Brice Butler?

The Cowboys have a logjam at receiver this season making it difficult to retain all of the worthy candidates. Is trading Brice Butler a viable option?

The Dallas Cowboys are fast approaching their cut-down date to the final 53-man roster. As we’ve discussed incessantly over the past week, good players are going to be left off the roster. And those good players are going to find jobs on other NFL rosters.

An embarrassment of riches may be a good problem to have but it’s still a problem. One way to turn this problem into a solution is to trade from a position of strength. One position of strength for the Cowboys is the receiver group.

Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Ryan Switzer, and Brice Butler are all sure things in 2017. Considering Dallas usually only keeps five receivers on the 53-man roster, you could say case closed, right?

Not so fast.

Behind the top-five are promising young players Noah Brown and Andy Jones. Both have shown enough in Cowboys Camp to indicate they can hang in this league. And both have flashed enough potential to make us believe that one day they may be able to do more than just “hang”.

Since it’s virtually impossible for the Cowboys to keep seven receivers, thoughts of trading are inevitable. But is it realistic? Would it help the Cowboys or hurt the Cowboys? We assess…

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Trading Brice Butler

The only player the Cowboys could trade from their receiver group is Brice Butler. Dez, Cole, and T-Will are too important to the Dallas offense to trade. Switzer, Brown, and Jones are all too unproven to garner enough in return. Only Brice Butler is expendable enough and proven enough to be a worthwhile trade piece.

It’s worth noting; no one likes Brice Butler as much as me. While everyone wanted to overpay for Williams this past offseason, I was content rolling the dice on Butler who we all thought would come at a quarter of the cost. Little did we all know Williams signed a very budget friendly deal and the Cowboys would be able to retain both on the cheap.

In training camp Butler has looked nasty. With his size, speed, and athletic ability he’s both a possession receiver and a big-play deep threat.  The film is out there and NFL teams know who he is. Sure, he’s had some mental lapses in the past. But he also has a highlight reel as good as anyone’s. You can’t teach his physical traits and that’s what makes him valuable.

Benefits of trading Butler

The benefits of trading Brice Butler are simple. First, he would bring something in return. Whether it’s a draft pick or a player who plays at a position of weakness, Dallas would get something back. Second, he would free room on the roster for rookie Noah Brown. As it stands now, if Brown doesn’t make the final-53, he will not make it through waivers to join the Cowboys’ practice squad.

Trading Butler, who’s a free agent after this season, would allow them to keep Brown, who’s under control for the next four seasons. It would do so without forcing the Cowboys to go long at receiver (which would have inevitably caused them to go short elsewhere).

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Problems with trading Butler

The problems with trading Butler are more hypothetical. Butler is the only player on the Dallas roster than can effectively replace Dez Bryant at the X spot. He’s the only player that can dominate on the slant and also be feared deep.  Keep in mind, Dez may not have deep speed but he is most certainly a deep threat.

History says Dez Bryant will miss time in 2017. He’s physical player with a history of injuries. Given this near-inevitability, having a player like Brice Butler waiting in the wings is important. Butler can’t seamlessly replace Bryant (no one could) but he could serve Bryant’s role better than anyone else on the roster.

It’s likely many don’t value Brice Butler as much as I do, therefore they don’t see him helping out should Dez go down. But how much value could we really hope to see in return if he was traded? A sixth round pick? A backup offensive linemen. Both would be nice to have but I’d argue not as nice as having a player like Butler on hand when Dez misses time.

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The Dallas Cowboys will be exploring their trade options these next few days. One player they will see a market for is WR4, Brice Butler. Is he more valuable as a trade piece or on the roster? I say roster. What say you?