It has been well-covered just how much the Dallas Cowboys' secondary has struggled throughout the 2025 season. The Cowboys rank dead last in yards allowed, with over 400 yards per game. This is worse than the 1-5 Baltimore Ravens or the imploding Miami Dolphins. Even the league's tanking teams are giving up less yardage than Dallas, leading to speculation that the franchise could make an impact move in the secondary ahead of this year's trade deadline on Nov. 4th. However, the wiser move for Dallas is to look to free agency.
Even with the incredible offensive talent the Cowboys have rostered, this isn't a team that is a piece away from a Super Bowl run. With this in mind, the franchise needs to save its draft picks and instead look to sign Asante Samuel Jr. The corner has missed the first part of the year rehabbing an injury, but is expected to return in the next weeks of the season. If there is one team that is in need of the corner's services, it is the Cowboys. Making the signing an obvious one for Jerry Jones and a front office in need of a win.
Cowboys Should Avoid Spending Picks Targeting Top Remaining Free Agent to Fix Secondary Woes
The move makes sense for Samuel in that he'll be playing for one of the league's most prestigious teams, giving the corner a great chance to rehab his value and cash in during free agency for the 2026 offseason. Even if the corner struggles, the blame would be focused on coordinator Matt Eberflus and the lack of talent around Samuel, making it the ideal move and the best path for the Cowboys team that shouldn't be spending draft picks.
The Cowboys have already paid CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott and have an upcoming contract decision on George Pickens. This makes draft picks vital with incredibly limited cap space in upcoming seasons. Dallas needs to make the most of its picks and cannot afford to spend what it would take to fix the secondary issues ahead of this year's trade deadline.
The wiser move is to add in free agency, bring in Samuel and looking for additional depth options. For Cowboys fans, there has to be an understanding that the franchise simply doesn't have the pieces needed to push their chips to the center of the table.
While the Cowboys are a possible playoff contender, there is nowhere close to the needed defensive talent to believe this team can contend for a Super Bowl. Making it clear that Dallas should opt to sit back at the trade deadline, utilizing free agency in an attempt to improve protecting draft picks badly needed in the 2026 offseason.