Cowboys news: After missing at the trade deadline, Dallas has a new target in their sights

Report: Cowboys tried to trade for Jerry Jeudy, still have WR Odell Beckham Jr. ‘in their sights’- Todd Brock, Cowboys Wire

It seems Jerry is getting serious about adding WR depth.

The Cowboys missed out on adding to their wide receiver room via trade, but they’re still very much in the mix to land the biggest fish in all of free agency, according to headlines made on a Sunday when the team isn’t even playing.

With three-time Pro Bowler Odell Beckham Jr. set to be medically cleared after a torn ACL suffered in Super Bowl LVI, NFL insiders Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo gave an update on the free agent’s 2022 playing status during the network’s Week 9 pregame show. The pair reported that the Cowboys have Beckham “in their sights” and “firmly on their radar,” adding that the team has “done regular check-ins on his health” during the latter stages of his rehab.

But Beckham isn’t the only marquee receiver to be linked to Dallas lately. The Cowboys made an attempt to acquire Brandin Cooks just before last week’s trade deadline, but were unable to come to terms with the Houston Texans. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero now says the Cowboys also went after Broncos star Jerry Jeudy but were unwilling to part with a second-round draft pick as payment.

Report: Odell Beckham Jr. to be fully cleared by end of week- Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

And if you were wondering about the injury status of the free agent wide receiver, here is the most recent update.

The biggest name free-agent will soon be getting a clean bill of health.

Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports that receiver Odell Beckham Jr. expects to be fully cleared to play this week. Beckham suffered a torn ACL in Super Bowl LVI.

Once he’s cleared, the question becomes where he’ll sign. He can choose his nest destination, and it’s believed in some league circles that he’ll join the Bills.

Other potentially interested teams include the Cowboys, Rams, Giants, 49ers, Chiefs, and Packers. Beckham reportedly wants something more than a short-term deal.

Wherever he goes, OBJ has the potential to have an impact during the stretch run, and in the postseason.

NFL insiders hint Super Bowl move Jerry Jones signaled could still be on the way- Josh Wilson, FanSided

Start buying into the idea that Dallas could actually add a key contributor for their late-season push.

Let’s break down the reference Jones was making to Sanders and see if we might have misunderstood in the first place. As mentioned, Jones repeatedly made reference to Deion Sanders, the two-way defensive player that the team acquired and gave them the talent needed to work their way to a third Super Bowl in the 90s.

But there’s an important detail that might be worth recalling. Sanders was not a trade acquisition. Sanders was acquired by the Cowboys in free agency midseason in 1995.

Applying that to 2022, that sounds a lot more like a potential signing of free agent WR Odell Beckham Jr., not a trade acquisition.

This is all just reading the tea leaves, but now there’s legitimate reporting to go behind it now, too. On Sunday morning, Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo reported the Cowboys have OBJ on their radar.

The article does mention that the Cowboys did make moves toward Cooks and Broncos WR Jerry Jeudy, maybe Jones was unknowingly speaking a free agent acquisition into existence when he was hyping up a game-changing Cowboys move.

Beckham is recovering from injury and looking for a multi-year deal. The Cowboys won the Deion Sweepstakes over a slew of teams interested in the 90s, maybe they can come out above the Bills, Giants, Rams, and Packers in the Odell Sweepstakes in 2022.

Grading the Cowboys defensive position groups midway through the 2022 season- Brandon Martinez, The Landry Hat

The defensive grading looks like the valedictorian’s report card.

Defensive Line

As I mentioned before, a ton of this defense’s success has been linked to their ability to get to the quarterback. One simple stat can help build that case. The Cowboys currently, prior to Week 9 games, lead the NFL in sacks with 33, seven more than the next highest team (49ers with 26).

If that isn’t enough for you, the team also leads the NFL in total pressures as well with 95. Led by Parsons with eight sacks, Dorance Armstrong is having a breakout year himself with five sacks, then Lawrence follows with four, which is also tied with newcomer Dante Fowler.

Micah Parsons and Dan Quinn forever.

(via @dallascowboys) pic.twitter.com/MzVhnKkySo

— Blogging The Boys (@BloggingTheBoys) October 25, 2022

While the defensive line has done a great job at forcing pressure on its opposition, they aren’t perfect. The run defense could certainly be better, especially after most recently surrendering over 240 rushing yards to the Chicago Bears in Week 8. The defense has allowed the seventh-most rushing yards in the league.

Overall, the pros certainly outweigh the cons in this group. This is some pass rush we haven’t seen in Dallas for a while. The line needs to keep this up, and hopefully, if they don’t, it’s because they’re working really hard to work on their run-stopping ability.

Grade: A

Cowboys rookies: Midseason grades for Tyler Smith, Jalen Tolbert and more- Rocky Garza Jr, Inside The Star

Who is your pick for the most impressive Dallas rookie through the halfway point in the season?

Tyler Smith: A-

On draft night, the Cowboys got criticized for picking Tulsa OT Tyler Smith in the first round. Smith, who was seen as a Day Two type of guy, was known as a mauler in the run game and for his “grown-man strength,” but higher-rated players were there for the Cowboys when it was their pick.

Although people swore the team would regret picking Smith, the tackle has proved the doubters wrong and has been one of the team’s best offensive linemen. Initially, Smith was going to get eased into the offensive line, but when Tyron Smith went down, he got thrown into the fire.

And so far, he hasn’t let the pressure eat him alive. While he has given up four sacks and needs to cut down on his penalties (seven), it’s looking like the team hit gold on another talented lineman, as he will likely be one of their main guys of the future.

Cowboys rookie LT Tyler Smith’s combination of athleticism and play style will make him a long-term problem for defenses when he’s blocking in space. A long reel of plays like this to come over course of NFL career. pic.twitter.com/eCtzuc2eiU

September 27, 2022

Cowboys going all-in on defense shows they’ve learned lesson from 2021 letdown- Sean Martin, Blogging The Boys

Is Jerry actually learning from his mistakes?

The Cowboys have learned from their failure to sustain on offense last year, and chose to address shortcomings on defense going into the bye week instead. Over Quinn’s time as coordinator, this defense has given up too many big plays on the ground. By moving on from Trysten HIll, trading for Jonathan Hankins, and getting Damone Clark on the field at linebacker, Dallas is committed to stopping the run with better size in the front seven.

Instead of asking the offense to be something they aren’t, the Cowboys defense is looking for any and all ways to improve having already shown they can carry this team in the early part of the season.

It was the 49ers who exposed the Cowboys run defense the most in their Wild Card win at AT&T Stadium in ‘21, and these same two teams could be on a collision course again with San Francisco adding Christian McCaffery to their backfield. For the Cowboys to look past the first round of the playoffs this season, they not only have work to do in their own division, but have more to prove on offense to show they can regularly win high-scoring games.

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