Dallas Cowboys Trade Proposal for Courtland Sutton of Broncos? Or Wait on Brandin Cooks?
SAN JOSE, Calif. - If you are a fan of the Dallas Cowboys - and a fan of symmetry - you will lover this idea of Brandin Cooks, the high-profile offensive free agent signing of the offseason, heating up in Week 5.
Why? We're a month into the season and it hasn't happened yet. The Cowboys play at the San Francisco 49ers on "Sunday Night Football'' and Cooks grew up in Stockton, a couple of hours from here. And he'll have a big bundle of family and friends at Levi's Stadium cheering him on.
Said QB Dak Prescott, who is hinting at the unveiling of new wrinkles this weekend: "He's a special player, and his big day is going to come. Maybe this week.''
Courtland Sutton and the Cowboys
Good. Or ... maybe - if the 3-1 Cowboys reevaluate their offense following this weekend against the 49ers and realize they are a weapon short - they examine other ideas.
One of those ideas: Stay aware of a possible fire sale in Denver, where most everything the Broncos are doing is turning out poorly. The monster Russell Wilson trade and the monster Randy Gregory signing? They surely regret the Wilson move and they were going to cut Gregory before they dumped the ex-Cowboys pass-rusher in a cheap 49ers deal.
And what about at wide receiver? Do the 1-3 Broncos need to hang onto another "name'' signing in Sutton who - despite putting up some numbers over the years (he came into the NFL as a second-round pick of the Broncos in 2018, and in his second season caught 72 balls for 1,112 yards and six touchdowns) - isn't helping them win?
Through four games this season, the 27-year-old has 20 catches for 216 yards and three touchdowns ... so the numbers are still there.
Dallas has discussed a receiver trade with Denver before; last year at this time, Jerry Jeudy was a discussion item. Should the Cowboys go back to that well with a bid on Sutton, who has three years left on his contract at about $17 million APY?
The 6-4, 216-pound Sutton is a Brenham, Texas native who starred at SMU; the Cowboys know him well. It's not an "easy answer,'' as we don't know what Denver would want in trade. (The Jeudy idea kept causing the Broncos to ask for a "first-rounder plus,'' which was never likely to happen.)
So maybe the "easiest answer'' is to trust that lining up alongside CeeDee Lamb will eventually pay off for Cooks, who has been a consummate pro in his time with Dallas ... but who also has battled a nagging knee sprain while catching just eight balls for 66 yards in his first month as a Cowboy.
Dak's semi-predicted "big day'' from Cooks on Sunday would answer a lot of questions about the receiver's involvement in the "Texas Coast Offense.'' Something less than that? The Cowboys might be wise to prepare for an arms race before the Oct. 31 trade deadline ... while also preparing for a Mile High fire sale.
