Inside The Star
The Dallas Cowboys’ defense has been nothing short of horrendous this season.
After years of hanging their hat on a fast, turnover-driven unit, this year’s version has been slow to react, poor in tackling, and utterly incapable of creating big plays.
If there was ever a time for Dallas to be aggressive before the trade deadline, it’s now. Conveniently, there’s a potential opportunity brewing in Miami.
The Dolphins and longtime general manager Chris Grier recently decided to part ways, signaling a possible transition period in South Beach.
When a team parts ways with its GM, it often leads to a “fire sale” of veteran talent to clear salary and stockpile draft picks for the incoming regime.
Two players in particular stand out as ideal targets for Dallas: DE Jaelan Phillips and S Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Both could immediately inject life into a Cowboys defense that desperately needs playmakers, and both could potentially be had for reasonable compensation given Miami’s current front-office situation.
When Micah Parsons was traded to Green Bay, the Cowboys lost not just their best defender, but the motor that made their pass rush thrive.
The ripple effects have been glaring. Dallas has struggled to generate consistent pressure, which in turn has left its secondary exposed.
Enter Jaelan Phillips.
At just 25 years old, Phillips is one of the league’s most explosive young edge rushers.
When healthy, he combines elite burst off the line with an array of pass-rush moves that make him a nightmare for opposing tackles.
He has the power to set the edge against the run and the speed to close in on quarterbacks in a flash, exactly the kind of two-way edge player Dallas lacks right now.
According to OverTheCap.com, Phillips would carry a $13.2 million cap hit this season, but with Dallas sitting comfortably under the cap thanks to some early-season restructures, the financials are workable.
The best part? Reports suggest the Dolphins are seeking no more than a third-round pick in return.
For a team like the Cowboys, that’s a bargain price for a player of Phillips’ caliber, a move that could immediately stabilize their pass rush and energize a defense that’s been searching for an identity.
If Phillips would help fix the Cowboys’ problems up front, S Minkah Fitzpatrick could be the answer to their troubles in the secondary.
Fitzpatrick, who began his career in Miami before being traded to Pittsburgh and later reacquired by the Dolphins, is one of the NFL’s premier safeties when healthy.
He’s a ballhawk with elite range, capable of covering ground sideline-to-sideline and disguising coverages in a way that would fit perfectly in Matt Eberflus’ scheme.
For Dallas, Fitzpatrick could provide what this defense has sorely lacked all year: leadership and stability on the back end.
He’d also bring the kind of playmaking instincts that once defined the Cowboys’ secondary.
From a financial standpoint, Fitzpatrick would count $4.504 million against the cap this season...
