Cowboys Make Trade Deadline Deal That May Not Help Now And Is Drawing Criticism

What are the Dallas Cowboys doing? It's fair to ask because this Jerry Jones team that once represented what all of America should aspire to – excellence, quality, respect – has lost all of that this NFL season.

That's not hyperbole.

This is serious. And sad.

The news out of The Star, which is the Cowboys' amazing practice facility, is that the Cowboys acquired wide receiver Jonathan Mingo from the Carolina Panthers prior to the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday. The Panthers announced the terms of the deal.

Cowboys Overpay For Jonathan Mingo

And looking at these terms, it's fair to believe the Cowboys got robbed.

Mingo, 23, is a developmental player with 55 catches for 539 yards in 24 NFL games. He has never scored an NFL touchdown.

This year he has played nine games for the Panthers and produced 1 yard or less in receiving yards in five of those games.

So, Mingo needs to have his better NFL days ahead of him – because the statistics and his play don't say much good about the days behind him.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 6: Wide receiver Jonathan Mingo #15 of the Carolina Panthers gets set during the first quarter of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears, at Soldier Field on October 6, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Todd Rosenberg/Getty Images)

Mingo More Expensive Than Hopkins?

But that's not really the whole point. This is:

The Cowboys are sending the Panthers a fourth-round selection in 2025 in a trade market where the Kansas City Chiefs acquired DeAndre Hopkins for a conditional fifth-round pick.

Where Davante Adams went to the Jets for a third-round pick.

Where Amari Cooper went to the Bills for a third-round pick.

Where, to put it more succinctly, future Hall of Fame candidates are going for less or just slightly more than what the Cowboys are paying for an unproven guy.

TAMPA, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 3: Jonathan Mingo #15 of the Carolina Panthers runs against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on December 3, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Criticism Of Cowboys Around NFL

And, look, I get it. Mingo is young. The Cowboys will own his rights through the 2026 season, whereas two of the three veterans mentioned above will be able to test free agency next year.

Plus, Mingo comes with the added attraction to the Cowboys that they valued him prior to the 2023 draft. They included him in their so-called 30 visits.

They really like him, just couldn't make a draft-day reach for him.

But that doesn't change the fact he hasn't produced, and other NFL teams are whispering to reporters, including me, that Dallas overpaid.

"Probably by 32-40 spots in the draft if they were doing this on draft day," one NFL player personnel director said. "The other thing you have to understand is who [the Cowboys] were bidding against. From what I'm hearing, the market for Jonathan wasn't what I'd call hot."

CINCINNATI, OHIO - OCTOBER 06: Derrick Henry #22 of the Baltimore Ravens reacts after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime at Paycor Stadium on October 06, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Rough Moves For Cowboys

You know where it is hot? In the Metroplex.

Fans are hot their Cowboys are 3-5 and licking wounds on a three-game losing skid.

Players are hot and sometimes having uncomfortable moments with reporters. Or are sometimes muttering "we (bleeping) suck."

And that doesn't speak to the hot seat coach Mike McCarthy is currently occupying in the final year of his contract with his team languishing .

You know who else is under a hot, uncomfortable spotlight? Jones.

He has endured withering criticism for taking so long to sign CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott to new contracts this offseason. That delay kept the team in something of a salary cap limbo during free agency, which prevented the Cowboys from signing other available talent.

Like, running back Derrick Henry.

Henry is the NFL's leading rusher with 1,052 yards for the Baltimore Ravens. The Cowboys are the NFL's least productive rushing team, with 652 total yards.

Dak Prescott Headed For IR

So, yes, everyone is failing in Dallas.

You want another failure? This Mingo trade is something of a failure in messaging.

Unlike other NFL trade deadline deals, this one is not going to make the Cowboys better now. It's not going to help them climb out of their under .500 hole. That's not what it's intended to do at all, even if the Cowboys haven't said that.

We know this because the guy throwing to Mingo the next few weeks won't be Prescott. That's because the quarterback is "likely" headed to the injured reserve list with a hamstring injury, Jones said Tuesday.

"It's an extended period of time here," Jones said on his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. "I wouldn't dare make a prediction when it could be. We'll see kind of how his rehab goes."

So, it'll be  backup quarterback Cooper Rush to Carolina draft bust Jonathan Mingo the next month or so.

CANTON, OH - AUGUST 05: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reacts following the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on August 5, 2017 in Canton, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

Cowboys Situation Seems Bleak

The Cowboys are having one of those seasons.

Prescott is injured.

CeeDee Lamb is hurt.

Micah Parson is injured, although not enough to keep him from taping his weekly podcast.

Brandin Cooks is on injured reserve.

DeMarcus Lawrence is on injured reserve.

DaRon Bland is injured.

You know what that makes the Mingo trade?

It's an unproven receiver leaving one troubled team behind in Carolina and joining another troubled team in Dallas.