Cowboys Not Expected To Pursue Davante Adams Trade

In the hours since the Davante Adams trade rumors began to swirl, the Cowboys emerged as a team that inquired about the standout Raiders wide receiver. While that may well be true, Dallas does not appear a serious player.

The Cowboys are not expected to pursue an Adams trade, with All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill going as far as to indicate the team has shown “no interest” in the 11th-year receiver. This comes after the team shot down interest in acquiring a running back or defensive end via trade.

Dallas received strong value from its 2018 trade with Oakland for Amari Cooper, who helped the ’18 Cowboys edition craft a second-half turnaround to the playoffs and stayed through the 2021 season. The Cowboys bailed on Cooper’s five-year contract, dealing it to the Browns, but have been searching for WR help since. Although CeeDee Lamb has soared onto the All-Pro tier post-Cooper, the Cowboys have not possessed too much depth at the position since that swap.

An Adams trade would reunite him with Mike McCarthy, the Packers’ HC for the first four-plus seasons of the All-Pro’s career. The Packers employed McCarthy as HC when they extended Adams in 2017, though his jump onto the All-Pro level came during Matt LaFleur‘s tenure. Adams played as a third wheel behind Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb to start his career but began to ascend in the late 2010s. McCarthy’s current team is not set to be the destination for Adams’ late prime.

This Adams news comes shortly after Brandin Cooks was ruled out for Week 5; the player the Cowboys eventually settled on to replace Cooper is battling a knee injury stemming from an infection. Cooks has not provided the Cowboys with the level of play he reached at his previous four stops, but he has been sporadically effective. The Cowboys have used 2022 third-rounder Jalen Tolbert more this season as well; the South Alabama alum has played 75% of Dallas’ offensive snaps. With Cooks out for the time being, Tolbert will continue to see regular usage. McCarthy said Wednesday he is comfortable with his in-house options at WR, though the fifth-year Dallas HC cannot exactly say he wants Adams in Dallas due to the NFL’s tampering policy.

It cost the Cowboys a first-round pick to acquire Cooper in 2018; Adams may be moved for a second-rounder (or less) due to his age (32 in December) and contract status. Adams is tied to a prorated $16.9MM base salary. Though, the Raiders can follow some recent teams by picking up some of Adams’ tab to increase trade compensation. Two nonguaranteed years remain on Adams’ extension, though the Cowboys just handed out two top-market deals and have another (Micah Parsons‘) on the horizon. Regardless, it appears the Cowboys will not be part of this conversation.