Dallas Cowboys: Trading for Jamal Adams presents big problems

It’s no secret Cowboys Nation loves them some Jamal Adams but trading for the All-Pro safety presents some major challenges for the Dallas Cowboys.

The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to Jamal Adams dating back to last season. The 3 year veteran safety out of LSU was wasting away with the Jets, and after rumors indicating his discontent surfaced, the safety-needy Dallas Cowboys were the obvious solution.

Not much has changed here in the offseason of 2020. The Jets are still keeping trade options open, the Dallas Cowboys are still in the market for a safety, and Cowboys Nation is ever-hungry for a high-profile roster addition. But for as great as Adams is, and for as much as he’d help this Dallas defense, a trade is a bad idea.

It’s hard to NOT love Jamal Adams so it should be no surprise Cowboys Nation fell in love with the guy. He’s a fierce hitter and a hawk in coverage. He makes everyone around him better and would be a big play machine on a Cowboys secondary greatly lacking in that particular department.

When Cowboys Nation heard the Dallas front office was in negations with the Jets last season, they were beside themselves. But alas agreement could not be found because the Cowboys offer of a first round pick was apparently not enough.

First round picks are gold in today’s NFL and if one first rounder isn’t even enough for a player who’s going to be free agent in two seasons, then the cost is too dang high for a team like the Dallas Cowboys. Especially since Adams is expected to reset the market at the safety position and many in New York have speculated he’d be willing to sit out to force an early extension (ala Ezekiel Elliott).

Simply put, the Dallas Cowboys cannot afford Jamal Adams. It’s not just one thing, but a multitude of things that in a trickledown kinda way, make this far too costly of an acquisition.

First, it’s the cost to trade. Teams maintain affordable rosters because the players on rookie deals counteract the players on expensive veteran contracts.  A roster with too many high-priced vets and not enough rookie deals becomes financially unsustainable. It’ll work for a little while by moving money back but eventually the bill becomes due.

We also need to factor in the Dallas Cowboys recent draft history. No slight to what Will McClay and the Dallas Cowboys scouting department have accomplished, but the early returns from the last few drafts don’t look so good. More on that check out:

This isn’t the 2018 season when Dallas traded a first rounder for Amari Cooper. Dallas had very few players making big money. Their recent draft picks also held more hope. Today, Ezekiel Elliott is now the most expensive running back in the NFL, DeMarcus Lawrence is a top-3 paid DE, and with La’el Collins now re-signed, the O-line is the highest paid unit in the league. We’re also on the verge of paying top-3 QB money to Dak Prescott and top-3 WR money to Amari. And that doesn’t even address the free agent money Dallas is about to spend on the D-line.

Even with roughly $80 million in cap space, things are about to get tight for the Cowboys. Add a mega deal like Adams’ and the loss of resources to counteract it (draft pick loss) and we have a troubling long-term financial situation.

It’s not like the former No. 6 overall pick isn’t great. It’s that given the Dallas Cowboys current situation, they just can’t afford to make the trade and survive the consequences.

• Published on 02/06/2020 at 12:01 PM
• Last updated at 02/06/2020 at 11:50 AM