ARLINGTON, Texas – The Dallas Cowboys (2-3) couldn’t have done it much more to embarrass yourself than what they did in their 24-16 loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) on “Thursday Night Football” to kick off Week 5.
The Cowboys walked off the field at AT&T Stadium on Thursday to a chorus of boos, and they deserved it all. Tampa Bay entered the game with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second career start in place of an injured Baker Mayfield, and when the clock hit zero, he was leaving the field with the third-largest upset win, as a 9.5-point underdog, by an undrafted rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, according to CBS Sports Research. Daniels was efficient 19 of 25 passing for 189 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 23 yards on 7 carries. Even more damning was allowing Buccaneers running back Bucky Irvin to explode for a career-high 165 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. Entering Thursday, he had averaged just 59.2 rushing yards per game over the past two seasons.
Dallas’ loss was so disheartening that someone yelled “embarrassing” at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott as he walked alone through the bowels of the stadium to the locker room after the game.
“It’s a loss that we’re supposed to have, absolutely supposed to have. To use the word embarrassing, it’s difficult,” Prescott said. “I feel like I’m discrediting the NFL if I use that (the embarrassing word) and especially the Tampa Bay Bucs, great Todd Bowles. … (But) when a winless team walks into your stadium in a prime-time game on Thursday night, yeah, we’re supposed to win that.”
Was the loss embarrassing enough to dissuade Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones from pursuing any more win-now trades? He already traded a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for 26-year-old cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Porter Jr. did not make his home debut Thursday night due to “flu-like” symptoms. Jones’ answer to that question is simple: No, I’m still open for business. The man is set to turn 84 on October 13, so he’s ready to do what he can to win a fourth Super Bowl right now.
“The future capital, I wouldn’t give it up for a player that doesn’t have a future or future potential that you could add years to. The future capital that you have is draft picks. Those guys have question marks, too. So if we see an opportunity and it’s a good fit for us, we’ll look at it carefully,” Jones said after the game. “It’s not about packing tents here. We’re 2-3, we didn’t expect to be 2-3. I also didn’t expect this Tampa team to come in here 0-4. They have a lot of good players. Hands down, they were the better team tonight.”
Jones says a lot of eyebrow-raising things, but it’s fair for him to imagine that the NFC East division is still up for grabs for his Cowboys, as surreal as that feeling may seem right now. The New York Giants are 3-1, but their ceiling is limited by quarterback Jaxson Dart’s season-ending knee injury. Backup Jameis Winston ranks dead last in the NFL with a completion percentage at 55.1% this season. The Giants are also without three-time Pro Bowl rusher Brian Burns, their leading passer, whose 16.5 sacks ranked second in the league in 2025, for the rest of the year after tearing his ACL and meniscus. The Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) are coming off an epic home loss to the Los Angeles Rams in which they blew a double-digit lead and went 0-12 on third-down conversion attempts.
Following the loss, six-time Pro Bowl Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson retired on Tuesday, and Philadelphia subsequently traded two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens. It’s at the top of their CVS injury list. The Washington Commanders are 1-3 and quarterback Jayden Daniels is once again dealing with an elbow injury.
As a refresher before we dive into the trade candidates, here’s a look at the draft picks the Cowboys still hold the rights to in case Jones wants to continue to double-team the 2026 season.
Dallas Draft Picks Available
- 2027 first round pick (least of theirs and that of the Green Bay Packers)
- 2027 second round pick
- 2027 fourth-round pick (via Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 2027 seventh round pick (San Francisco 49ers pick following trade with Houston Texans)
- 2028 first round pick
- 2028 third-round pick
- 2028 fourth-round pick
- Fifth-round pick in 2028
- 2028 sixth-round pick
- 2028 sixth-round pick (via New Orleans Saints)
- The seven picks in the 2029 draft
Here’s a look at three players Jones could trade for and “add years” to win now and over the next season or two.
Commercial candidates
EDGE Chargers Tuli Tuipulotu
This is the big fish here. The Cowboys currently rank eighth in the NFL in quarterback pressure rate (32.7%) and fifth in sack rate (3.4%). Their pass rush is one of their most glaring needs on defense. Two of their veteran Pro Bowl edge rushers they acquired this offseason, Rashan Gary and Von Miller, appear to be past their expiration dates, and the Cowboys have yet to be able to replace producing All-Pro Micah Parsons after trading him to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the 2025 season.
If Jones is comfortable parting with high-profile draft capital, Tuli Tuipulotu, the Los Angeles Chargers’ 24-year-old Pro Bowl wideout, makes a lot of sense. Age is right, and like Porter Jr., he’s a former second-round pick in the final year of his rookie deal, looking to cash in on a sizable new deal. Tulipulotu’s contract situation could make him available in a trade if the 0-4 Chargers decide to pursue a fire sale ahead of a highly anticipated 2027 NFL Draft class.
He has 13.0 sacks, the sixth-most in the NFL, and 70 quarterback pressures, the 11th-most in the league, in 2025, en route to earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2025, and he’s on track for another good season through the first quarter of 2026. He’s already up 2.0 and 14 quarterback pressures this season, though Los Angeles spent the sixth most time in the NFL. NFL trails opponents at 2:13:59.
This is the ideal solution if Jerry really wants to be “all in” again.
Books Dolphins LB Jordyn
The Dallas Cowboys reportedly attempted to trade for Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks in the offseason when he had just one year left on his contract, before Miami extended Brooks to a three-year, $48 million contract, including $35 million guaranteed this summer.
However, the Dolphins are in the midst of a top-to-bottom rebuild in year one, with new head coach Jeff Hafley and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan both coming from the Green Bay Packers’ draft-and-development franchise model. Miami is 0-4 and has the NFL’s worst offense (11.5 points per game), and is the only team that hasn’t led at any point in 2026. The Dolphins also pay more for players not on their roster (an NFL record $179 million in hits) than players on their roster ($156 million).
Brooks is 29 years old and is under contract through the 2029 season, his age 32 season. It’s basically the remains of his youth. Jones not having to worry about Brooks’ contract situation is probably a relief, and on a desperate Dolphins team in 2026, he’s still a bright spot. Pro Football Focus ranks Brooks as the 12th overall linebacker in the NFL with a defensive rating of 82.7. He would also provide immediate help to the Cowboys’ worst run defense, which is allowing an average of 168.4 yards per game. Brooks ranks as PFF’s fourth-best linebacker against the run with an 82.7 defense grade.
Broncos WR/Returner Marvin Mims Jr.
One might look at this trade candidate and think, “Wait a minute. Dallas is loaded at the wide receiver position with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens! Yes, that’s true, but this trade is more about special teams with a little upside potential for WR3 or WR4. Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. is still a developing receiver at 24 years old, but he’s already one of the best running backs in the NFL. Mims Jr. is a two-time Pro Bowl returner and earned first-team All-Pro return honors in 2024 when he led the NFL with a 15.7-yard punt return average. He has both a kick and a punt return touchdown in his career, and he led the NFL with 452 punt return yards in 2025.
Dallas has a three-time Pro Bowl player and first-team All-Pro returner in 2024 in KaVontae Turpin, but the shine could be fading on the TCU product. He had a brutal fumble on a kickoff return in Thursday’s loss to the Buccaneers, and the 5-foot-7, 170-pound return man is now 30 years old.
Turpin still remains one of the shiftiest and quickest returners in the league, but at his age and size, Dallas might want someone younger and slightly bigger in Mims, who is 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds. The Cowboys might be able to get a draft pick to ship out Turpin, and they might be able to use that and another later pick to bring in a younger, bigger replacement. Additionally, Mims went to high school down the street from the Cowboys’ home team, The Star, at Lone Star High School. Jones loves his hometown and its ties to Texas.
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