Dallas Cowboys: Trade for Jimmy Garoppolo (assessing the logic)?
By Reid Hanson
When the news came out Sunday night that the Dallas Cowboys would be without Dak Prescott for the 4-6 weeks, alternative solutions started flying. Names like Gardner Minshew, Cam Newton, and Ryan Fitzpatrick rained down on Cowboys Nation, but none grabbed the national attention like the name Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo, or “Jimmy G”, is the hottest name on the market. The former San Fran starter was replaced in the lineup this season, and eyeing an opportunity elsewhere. A free agent in 2023, Jimmy G is available if the price is right so it’s understandable certain talking heads love linking the hottest name with the hottest team in professional sports (it’s ratings gold).
Trading for Jimmy Garoppolo might be the worst thing the Dallas Cowboys could do to remedy their current situation.
The idea Jimmy G, or any QB for that matter, can come in and succeed in Dallas right now is missing the point. The issue that must be solved in Dallas is not that the QB got hurt, it’s why the QB got hurt.
The Dallas Cowboys threw together a rag-tag offensive line and JV-caliber receiver group and expected to win. As many predicted, it did not go well. It went pretty much as expected.
The offensive line couldn’t protect Dak Prescott and the receivers couldn’t create separation. When they did get separation, they either dropped the ball or ran the wrong route. Even CeeDee Lamb (the only one with an NFL TD reception) underwhelmed.
This isn’t an offense designed for a QB to succeed. It’s an offense that needs it’s signal caller to do EVERYTHING. Frankly, there’s probably only two or three QBs in the NFL that could have had success on Sunday night for the Cowboys. And Jimmy G is certainly not one of them.
Adding a replacement isn’t the answer. Not only will they have to learn the offense (something Mike McCarthy hasn’t even done yet), but they wouldn’t be able to overcome the OL and WR issues.
The Dallas Cowboys built a terrible offense this year. They are playing without 3 of their top-4 WRs from last season and have questions at 4 of 5 spots on their O-line. It’s not that they made so many changes, per say, it’s that they didn’t replace the players with proven entities. They brought in inexperienced players and now have to deal with the painful development process.
An outside QB solution probably wouldn’t be ready to go until Dak was nearing return anyway. And none of the available options hold a candle to Dak, so they (Jimmy G) would just go wasted on the bench the rest of the season.
The Dallas Cowboys made their bed and now they have to lay in it. Trading for Jimmy G would just cost a pick and solve nothing.
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The issue has to be handled internally. Can they win with their internal options? No, but they should have thought about that last March.