If there is one thing we’ve seen from the Cowboys this offseason, it’s that the team hands out nickels like they’re manhole covers. With its salary-cap situation being a difficult one—the team has just $12 million in space, according to OverTheCap.com, which ranks 23rd in the NFL—the Cowboys let several respected veterans walk in free agency this winter.
With the team’s lackluster playoff performance—they’re 4-12 in the postseason in the last 25 years—owner Jerry Jones has been more than reluctant to commit to contracts for his current players. Still, they want to give the Super Bowl a legitimate go this year, and if they truly hope to have more of a postseason impact this year, they’ll need more talent.
At USA Today, they’re suggesting a way that the Cowboys could add a significant talent that should be available on the trade market, if not now, then soon. That would be wide receiver Courtland Sutton of the Broncos, who would give CeeDee Lamb (assuming he ends his holdout) a top-level running mate and would give star quarterback Dak Prescott arguably the best No. 2 receiver he’s had in his career.
Courtland Sutton Not a Sure Bet to Be Traded
There’s reason to believe that Sutton could hit the trade market this summer, or at least before the trade deadline. His current team, Denver, is likely going with rookie quarterback Bo Nix and would do well to look to collect future assets while they can. Sutton is coming off a year in which he caught 59 passes for 772 yards and 10 touchdowns.
He could bump Cowboys No. 2 Brandin Cooks into the currently empty No. 3 role. Cooks will be a free agent after this season.
“If the Denver Broncos view this upcoming season as a must-win for Sean Payton and his coaching staff, it’s unlikely the team trades Sutton this summer,” USA Today’s Cory Woodroof wrote. “If Denver has a more patient approach to what life may look like starting quarterback Bo Nix this season, the front office may be open to trading Sutton to get as much in return as possible while he’s still playing at a high level.
“While he might be a more likely candidate for the NFL trade deadline, we’ll include him on this list as someone we’re keeping an eye on as a possible candidate. He’d be a marquee name for any team that needs receiver help. For the Broncos, he could bring in a pretty nice draft pick.”
Cowboys Not Paying CeeDee — Would They Pay Someone Else?
Woodroof pegs the Cowboys, as well as the Steelers and Patriots, as fits for Sutton.
Of course, as good as he might look in a Cowboys uniform, Sutton’s contract would complicate things for a team that has not shown much willingness to get creative with contract restructures and adding pieces this offseason. Sutton is in the second year of a four-year, $60 million contract that has a cap hit of $17.3 million, per Spotrac.
The Cowboys are currently locked in a battle over the contract of Lamb, who has been holding out of camp as he seeks a new deal, rather than playing on the fifth-year option he has, slated to pay him $18 million.
Dallas is likely to give Lamb a new deal, though the reluctance to pay him is obvious, just like it is with Prescott, who also is eligible for an extension. The Cowboys also let go two top-level offensive contributors, left tackle Tyron Smith and rubbing back Tony Pollard.
The chances that the Cowboys are willing to give up a quality draft pick—at least a fourth-rounder, if not a third—for Sutton are slim, especially given the fact that they’d have to pay him.
