Despite having the No. 5 rated defense in the NFL last season, the Cowboys do need help at some key spots on that side of the ball. The defensive line has been earmarked as the most obvious place for an upgrade—or, at least, for added depth—but the team will have questions, too, at linebacker, where the uncertain future of Leighton Vander Esch leaves the Cowboys wanting. And perhaps a Cowboys trade could fill the gap.
That’s the outlook from Bleacher Report, which looked at three potential deals the Cowboys could make this offseason. A potential deal with the Jets might have been the least splashy of the three, but perhaps would be the one with the highest impact.
That’s because it would bring back Jets linebacker CJ Mosley, a polished veteran with five Pro Bowl appearances on his resume. Mosley would not be a long-term option, but as he is in the final year of a five-year, $85 million contract, he could be a suitable bridge to a younger player the Cowboys could tap in the draft or elsewhere.
TJ Bass & Draft Capital Fuel Cowboys Trade Proposal
As Bleacher Report sees it, the proposed deal would go like this:
“New York Jets Receive: IOL T.J. Bass, 2024 third-round pick (No. 87 overall)
Dallas Cowboys Receive: LB C.J. Mosley, 2024 sixth-round pick (No. 186 overall)”
Of course, the Cowboys used Bass pretty extensively on an offensive line that was riddled with injuries this year, but the Jets’ injury woes were just as bad. If the Cowboys sign their free agents and return their offensive front intact for next season, it would be easier to find a backup lineman to replace Bass than it would a linebacker of Mosley’s quality.
A third-rounder is a steep price, but the Cowboys want to get to the Super Bowl in 2025, and need short-term solutions.
Justifying the deal, B/R wrote: “Mosley is getting long in the tooth, but he’s still playing at a high level. He carried the fifth-best grade with PFF this season in a season where he had 152 tackles while playing 99 percent of the defensive snaps for the Jets.
“The Jets could clear $11 million in cap space if they trade the 32-year-old defender, but the Cowboys would have the ability to re-work his contract to lighten the financial burden and make a push for next year’s Super Bowl.”
CJ Mosley Has Less Wear & Tear
At 31 years old (he turns 32 in June), Mosley certainly is not young. But he is a relatively young in terms of the amount of wear-and-tear he has put on his body. That’s because Mosley essentially missed all of two seasons in 2019 and 2020, and preserved his body by doing so.
Mosley only played two games with a stubborn groin injury in 2019. He followed that up by sitting out for all of 2020 during the NFL’s Covid-19 season. The league gave players the option of sitting out that season, and Mosley was one of the few who took it.
Mosley was a little cryptic as to why he decided to sit out, but he explained that it was for family reasons.
“Because of COVID, my family is my support system with my son, so I didn’t want to risk that,” Mosley said, per AL.com. “… It’s a full team sport, but sometimes people got to get better on their own. They got to look out for — we’re in a different situation — but I’ve got to look out for my family, too, so sometimes you got to make that small sacrifice that some people might not understand right now. But when you come out on top, everybody’s going to be on your side cheering for you.”
