Dallas Cowboys aren’t ruling out a draft-day deal, could re-open Jamal Adams talks
The Dallas Cowboys have been linked to a possible trade for New York Jets all-pro safety Jamal Adams since striking out on a deal to land the player before last year’s trade deadline.
With Day 1 of the NFL draft on Thursday, the expectation is that talks may heat up in the coming days because the Jets and Adams have not made any progress on a contract extension. Adams has said he plans to boycott the team’s virtual offseason program.
Adams played at LSU, but he grew up in Lewisville and has made no secret about his interest in playing for his hometown team if he cannot come to terms with the Jets.
Any deal for Adams would certainly have to include the team’s 17th overall pick, and Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones didn’t shoot down the possibility of such a move on Friday when he was asked about Adams and the potential of any draft-day trades on his radio show on 105.3 FM The Fan.
“I think you have to be open at all times to improve your football team,” Jones said. “That goes to veterans, unrestricted free agents, trades. You have to be willing to be flexible and drop what you are doing and take a long, hard look at a player, [or] a situation if it arises.”
Jones said that any talk about the Cowboys possibly moving their pick for a player or sliding up or down in the draft wouldn’t occur until they were on the clock. “You don’t really have a lot of activity until you get closer to your pick.”
Regarding any interest in Adams, the safety position has been a need of the Cowboys. The team oddly passed on a safety in the first round last season in favor of defensive tackle Trysten Hill.
And while they signed safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix in free agency, he is on a one-year deal. Fellow defensive back Xavier Woods is in the final year of his rookie deal.
The Cowboys could target safeties Xavier McKinney out of Alabama or LSU’s Grant Delpit in the first two rounds.
Adams, however, is a proven star who is seeking a long-term contract extension that would make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL.
The big question is whether the Cowboys could acquire Adams and give him a big-money extension without first doing a long-term deal for quarterback Dak Prescott.
This story was originally published April 17, 2020 at 3:17 PM.
