Cowboys in 2 of 10 worst NFL trade deadline deals, including $54.5M WR

The Dallas Cowboys have always been a team willing to trade assets in one way or another. The majority of time, the club looks to use the trade market as a way to acquire talent without having to guarantee salary. The way NFL deals are set up, a player’s signing bonus money and cap allocation stays behind with the original team, often allowing the acquiring team to get a bargain on the remaining year of the player’s contract.

However even that doesn’t guarantee the player will work out. Trades at the deadline don’t always have that shape, and many times the players being moved are still on their rookie contracts, meaning the salaries are relatively low and the draft compensation and future performance are the only true measuring sticks. Recently, Bleacher Report took a look at the deadline deals that didn’t work out, ranking their Top 10.

The Cowboys were named twice, one for a trade that worked out in their favor and another in the opposite direction.

9. Dallas Cowboys Trade for WR Jonathan Mingo (2024)

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Trade: The Dallas Cowboys trade a 2025 fourth-round pick to the Carolina Panthers for wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a seventh-round pick.

The amazing part of the Dallas Cowboys’ acquisition of Jonathan Mingo is how little they’ve received in return even though he’s still on the team. To make matters worse, the Kansas City Chiefs flipped a lower draft pick to acquire DeAndre Hopkins prior to the same trade deadline.

Here’s the thing: Mingo hasn’t been a “friendly” target for quarterback Dak Prescott. He’s caught nine passes in 19 appearances over two-plus seasons. Mingo has started exactly one game during that stretch. He hasn’t given the Cowboys anything they envisioned when they made the deal.

Mingo was traded for after the Cowboys lost Dak Prescott for the season, as Dallas looked to find what they thought they saw in the draft process when they heavily coveted the Ole Miss prospect. He looked like he had made huge strides this past offseason, but the top-heavy nature of the Cowboys’ Big 3 receivers (CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens and Ryan Flournoy) means he’s just not going to see many targets or snaps.

7. Oakland Raiders Trade WR Amari Cooper to Dallas Cowboys (2018)

Trade: The Dallas Cowboys trade a 2019 first-round pick to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Amari Cooper.

The Raiders organization hasn’t been known for its deft negotiating tactics or drafting. Both bit the franchise when it chose to trade wide receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys prior to the 2018 trade deadline.

The Raiders gave up on the 2015 No. 4 overall pick after seeing a downturn in his production and consistency. Cooper rediscovered himself on the Cowboys. He caught 292 passes for 3,893 yards and 27 touchdowns in three-plus seasons with the team. 

To make matters worse, the Raiders used the first-round pick they got in return for Cooper to draft safety Johnathan Abram. 

The Cowboys milked everything they could out of Cooper’s leftover contract, including the fifth-year option, before signing Cooper to an extension. He played 3.5 seasons in Dallas and made $54.5 million, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2019. As Lamb had ascended to WR1 status, the Cowboys chose to pay Michael Gallup instead of keeping Cooper, trading him to Cleveland for undermarket draft compensation.

He went out to two more 1,000-plus yard seasons and another Pro Bowl. Dallas could’ve used him opposite Lamb.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys in 2 of 10 worst NFL trade deadline deals, including $54.5M WR