The Dallas Cowboys come into the 2024 season with high expectations. They have made very few offseason moves. While they brought back running back Ezekiel Elliott, the rest of the team is mostly the same as last year. However, the team made a move today to help their defensive line depth. In a rare interdivisional trade, the Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Jordan Phillips from the New York Giants.
Dallas Cowboys Acquire Jordan Phillips
NFL insider Jordan Schulz was the first to report the news of the trade. Usually, divisional opponents do not like trading with one another as they have to play each other twice a year. This did not stop the Giants from sending the 31-year-old defensive tackle to the Dallas Cowboys. Day three draft picks are also involved, with the Giants getting a 2026 sixth-round pick and the Cowboys getting a 2026 seventh-round pick.
Jordan Phillips has struggled to produce in recent years. In the last two seasons, he has only managed to rack up four sacks and 35 tackles. His best year came way back in 2019 with the Buffalo Bills when he tallied 9.5 sacks on the year. While he has struggled in the past few years, he is a valuable depth piece for the Cowboys.
Valuable Piece For Dallas
Phillips is extremely valuable for Mike Zimmer’s defense. They lost a few depth pieces in free agency, and then defensive end Sam Williams tore his ACL in training camp. Part of what makes a pass rush potent is the ability to keep legs fresh. Dallas needed some more quality pieces on the defensive line. While Phillips isn’t going to stuff the stat sheet, he will be a valuable veteran for this team.
Defensive tackle is also a position in which the Dallas Cowboys could use a veteran presence. Former first-round pick Mazi Smith had a difficult rookie season. While the team is not giving up on him, a veteran like Phillips could help mentor the young player. If nothing else, it takes some of the pressure off Smith, which could be huge for his 2024 season.
Interdivisional Trade
The crazy part of this trade is that the Giants are seemingly helping their rival. However, this is a low-risk move that shouldn’t come back to bite them hard. It isn’t the first time that we’ve seen division rivals make a trade. The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings have made some trades in the past few years, most notably for TJ Hockenson. This is a quality move for the Dallas Cowboys. It will be interesting to see how Phillips is used in 2024.
The Steelers haven’t won a playoff game since the 2016 season, but quarterback Russell Wilson believes that not only will that streak come to an end this season, but that they can also contend for a championship.
“I think we have a great chance, but my dad used to say, ‘Potential doesn’t mean anything, you haven’t done it yet,'” Wilson said. “So we gotta do it and that’s the great part about this game.” Potential is exactly what Pittsburgh has after rebuilding their quarterback room, putting the finishing touches on their offensive line and adding more stars to an already-star-studded defense this offseason. However, Wilson thinks what makes the Steelers so special is the standard that they set this time of year. “What I learned is what I already kinda knew playing against the Steelers all these years. Our toughness, our mental fortitude,” Wilson added. “We had six practices in a row. That’s not normal in the National Football League anymore. I think it’s what it takes to be great. It’s what it takes to win.”
There’s a reason head coach Mike Tomlin has never had a losing season in his 17 years coaching Pittsburgh, and it’s because he gets the best out of his players. Wide receiver George Pickens sees similar qualities in his new quarterback, too. “(Wilson’s) a very good leader,” Pickens said. “He’s a more verbal guy than the other Qs for sure. His enthusiasm is the best thing about him.” Wilson has been limited for much of training camp after injuring his calf just before it kicked off, but Pickens says he has still found ways to help the team. “He’s kinda been coaching up all the guys,” Pickens added.
“He’s kinda in the coaching role right now recovering from the calf.” On Wednesday, Wilson said he feels “really good,” hinting he’ll make his debut in the Steelers’ second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. If he does, it’ll be his first opportunity to prove his championship beliefs in his new team while also making his case to be the starting quarterback, of course. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
The Seattle Seahawks are in the midst of a reworking roster. For the first time in more than a decade, Pete Carroll will not be the team’s head coach in Week 1. As such, seemingly everything is on the table for the franchise residing within a stone’s throw of Puget Sound. However, a couple of names could be on the trade block before anyone else.
Here’s a look at two Seahawks players who could be on the team for one regular season game and gone the next. Tyler Lockett, WR Tyler Lockett has been a staple of the Seahawks for about a decade. He built his name with Russell Wilson. He managed to maintain a semblance of momentum with Geno Smith, but now appears to be on a decline.
Lockett is coming off his second consecutive dip in receiving yards in 2023. At 31 years old, the clearest diagnosis is an age-related decline. The 2023 campaign also was the first time he dipped below 1000 yards since 2018. Last season, Lockett still managed to produce 894 yards, which has a place in the NFL. However, if the Seahawks opt to start their rebuild by the mid-season mark, trading Lockett would be arguably the fastest way to get draft capital quickly. Noah Fant, TE Noah Fant was acquired in the blockbuster Russell Wilson trade. While the souvenir is a nice reminder of the trade for Seahawks fans, it isn’t quite practical. Fant earned just 414 yards as the team’s starting tight end last season.
If the Seahawks want to rebuild the position and start from scratch, they wouldn’t be risking much of a dip if Fant doesn’t work out. However, as a veteran tight end, a contender may be willing to burn a seventh-round pick to acquire Fant to help fill out a depth spot in a win-now move. Removing Fant from the equation would elevate Pharoah Brown to the starting role, who would work as a shot in the dark as a receiving tight end. It likely wouldn’t be the long-term fix as a 30-year-old player, but it would give a fresh look at the offense. Otherwise, the team could turn to unknowns Tyler Mabry or Brady Russell just to see if they can find a gamer.
Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick told Miriam Walker-Khan of Sky Sports recently that he was still hoping to return to play in the NFL someday. While his dream of appearing under center more than seven-and-a-half years since his last NFL snap seems unrealistic, there may be a way for the 36-year-old to make a comeback in some capacity. In an interview with USA Today’s Jarrett Bell, Los Angeles Chargers first-year head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he would like to have Kaepernick on the team. Harbaugh envisions having the Milwaukee native on the sideline with a headset rather than a helmet, however. “If that was ever the path he was to take, I think that would be tremendous,” Harbaugh said, per Bell. “He’d be a tremendous coach, if that’s the path he chose.” Kaepernick told Walker-Khan that he was “still training” and if he were to make it back to the NFL, it would be a “major moment” and a “major accomplishment” for him. He added that he still believed he could “bring a lot to a team and help them win a championship.” It’s been well over half a decade now since Kaepernick stepped foot on an NFL field.
He spent his entire six-year career with the Niners from 2011-16, including the first four seasons playing under Harbaugh. Kaepernick and Harbaugh led San Francisco to an appearance in Super Bowl XLVII where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens and an NFC Championship Game berth the following season. The mobile threat played 75 games in his career with his last contest coming in Week 17 of the 2016 campaign when his Niners lost to the Seattle Seahawks 25-23 on New Year’s Day 2017. He sparked controversy during the 2016 campaign with his on-field political statements in kneeling during the pregame national anthem to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Kaepernick then went unsigned through the summer entering the 2017 season amid allegations that he was being blackballed. The University of Nevada product filed a grievance against the league during the fall of 2017, accusing league owners of colluding to keep him out of the NFL, but later withdrew the grievance in February 2019 after reaching a confidential settlement with the league. Harbaugh told Bell that soon after becoming the Chargers head coach in January, he talked with Kaepernick about joining the team in a non-playing role. “Yeah, we talked a little bit about it,” Harbaugh said. “He’s considering it. He was out of the country. He said he was going to get back to me. We haven’t reconnected since then.
That was early, early in the year.” With their long history, the former Michigan head coach clearly still has close ties to the former signal-caller-turned civil rights activist. Harbaugh told Bell that Kaepernick is “one of (his) favorite players (he’s) ever coached” and saw the former second-round pick as a “hero.” As for ever seeing Kaepernick taking snaps on the gridiron again, it still seems like the opportunity has passed.
With the devastating news that rookie quarterback J.J. McCarthy will miss the 2024 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, the Minnesota Vikings could be in the market for a new passer to back up Sam Darnold. Here are four options the Vikings could consider to replace McCarthy: Sign Ryan Tannehill Tannehill is still available as a free agent and with 151 NFL starts under his belt, the Vikings could do a lot worse.
The 36-year-old’s numbers weren’t terrible with the Tennessee Titans last season (1,616 passing yards, 64.8% completions, 4/7 TD/INT ratio in 10 games) considering he was playing behind the worst offensive line in football. Sure, Tannehill isn’t the same player he was in 2019 or 2020, but he makes the most sense as an insurance policy should Darnold struggle. He was 39-24 as the Titans starter over the last five seasons, he’s mobile enough to get out of the pocket when protection breaks down and he has a better ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing compared to Darnold.
Trade for Trey Lance Before the San Francisco 49ers shipped Lance to the Dallas Cowboys last year, the Vikings were reportedly one of the teams who inquired about acquiring Lance. The 24-year-old can make and extend plays with his legs, has a cannon for an arm and can ease his way into the offense and learn while Darnold starts the year as QB1. Being in the final year of his contract, Minnesota could be a perfect place for a player like Lance to take the field for some of the year, prove he still has starting NFL quarterback ability and up his stock heading into free agency next season.
Trade for Davis Mills Mills isn’t going to light the world on fire, but with Case Keenum backing up C.J. Stroud, he could be a perfect stop-gap option for a season. He could also probably be had for a mid-round draft pick, making him a low-risk one-year investment. Mills will be a free agent next offseason and acquiring him now wouldn’t tie the Vikings to him long-term or impede McCarthy’s development once healthy. Not to mention Mills has 26 games of starting experience and his numbers as a starter in Houston weren’t all that terrible considering the lack of talent he had around him.
Trade for Taylor Heinicke With Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. ahead of him on the depth chart, Heinicke is more of a luxury for the Falcons at this point, so why not get an asset back for him? The 31-year-old played pretty well from 2021-to-2022 in Washington and he’s started enough games to be a decent fallback plan if Darnold doesn’t pan out. Even if Darnold is solid this season, the Vikings would likely feel much more at ease having a backup like Heinicke over second-year QB Jaren Hall.
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