ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys (2-3) couldn't have done much more to embarrass themselves than what they did in their 24-16 head-scratcher of a loss against the previously-winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) on "Thursday Night Football" to kick off Week 5.
The Cowboys trudged off their home field at AT&T Stadium on Thursday while being serenaded by a chorus of boos, and they earned every bit of it. Tampa Bay entered the game with undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels making his second career start in place of an injured Baker Mayfield, and when the clock hit zero, he was walking off the field with the third-largest upset win, as a 9.5-point underdog, by an undrafted rookie quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, per CBS Sports Research. Daniels was an efficient 19 for 25 passing with 189 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 23 yards on 7 carries. Even more damning was allowing Buccaneers running back Bucky Irvin to explode for a career-high 165 yards rushing and a touchdown on 21 carries for a 7.9 yards per carry average. Entering Thursday, he had averaged just 59.2 rushing yards per game across the last two seasons.
Dallas' loss was so disheartening that someone yelled "embarrassing" at Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott as he walked through the bowels of the stadium to the locker room by himself after the game.
"It's a loss we're supposed to have, definitely supposed to have. To use the word embarrassing — it's tough," Prescott said. "I feel like I'm discrediting the NFL if I use that [the word embarrassing] and particularly the Tampa Bay Bucs, the great Todd Bowles. … [But] when a winless team comes into your home stadium on a Thursday night primetime game, yeah, we're supposed to win that."
Was the loss embarrassing enough to dissuade Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones from no longer pursuing additional win-now trades? He already traded a 2027 sixth-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers for 26-year-old cornerback Joey Porter Jr. Porter Jr. didn't make his home debut Thursday night because of "flu-like" symptoms. Jones' answer to that question is simple: Nope, I'm still open for business. The man is set to turn 84 years old on Oct. 13, so he's open to doing what he can to win a fourth Super Bowl right now.
"The future capital, I wouldn't give it up for a player who didn't have some future or the potential of future that you could add years to. The future capital that you have are draft picks. Those guys have question marks with them too. So if we do see an opportunity, and it fits for us, we'll take a good look at it," Jones said postgame. "This isn't fold the tents here. We are 2-3, didn't expect to be 2-3. Didn't expect this Tampa team to come here 0-4 either. They got a lot of good players. Unquestionably, they were the better team tonight."
Jones does say a lot of eyebrow-raising things, but it is fair for him to envision the NFC East division to still be up for grabs for his Cowboys, as surreal as that sentiment feels in this moment. The New York Giants are 3-1, but their ceiling is limited by the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Jaxson Dart. Fill-in Jameis Winston ranks dead last in the NFL in completion percentage at 55.1% this season. The Giants are also without three-time Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns, their best pass rusher, whose 16.5 sacks ranked second in the league in 2025, for the rest of the year after he tore his ACL and meniscus. The Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) are fresh off an epic meltdown home loss of their own against the Los Angeles Rams in which they blew a double-digit lead and went 0-12 in third-down conversion attempts.
In the aftermath of that loss, Eagles six-time Pro Bowl right tackle Lane Johnson retired on Tuesday, and Philadelphia then traded two-time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Cam Jurgens to the Baltimore Ravens. That's on top of their CVS receipt-length injury list. The Washington Commanders are 1-3, and quarterback Jayden Daniels is once again dealing with an elbow injury.
As a refresher before we dive into the trade candidates, here is a look at the draft picks the Cowboys still own the rights to in the event Jones wants to continue doubling down on the 2026 season.
Dallas draft picks available
- 2027 first-round pick (the lesser of their own and the Green Bay Packers')
- 2027 second-round pick
- 2027 fourth-round pick (via Pittsburgh Steelers)
- 2027 seventh-round pick (San Francisco 49ers' pick from a trade with the Houston Texans)
- 2028 first-round pick
- 2028 third-round pick
- 2028 fourth-round pick
- 2028 fifth-round pick
- 2028 sixth-round pick
- 2028 sixth-round pick (via New Orleans Saints)
- All seven of their 2029 draft picks
Here is a look at three players Jones could trade for and "add years to" to win now and over the next season or two.
Trade candidates
Chargers EDGE Tuli Tuipulotu
This is the big fish right here. The Cowboys currently rank eighth-worst in the NFL in quarterback pressure rate (32.7%) and fifth-worst in sack rate (3.4%). Their pass rush is one of their most glaring remaining needs on defense. Two of their veteran, Pro Bowl edge rushers they acquired this offseason, Rashan Gary and Von Miller, look to be past their expiration date, and the Cowboys have yet to be able to replace All-Pro Micah Parsons' production after trading him to the Green Bay Packers just before the start of the 2025 season.
Should Jones be comfortable parting with high-round draft capital, Los Angeles Chargers 24-year-old Pro Bowl edge rusher Tuli Tuipulotu makes a lot of sense. The age is right, and like Porter Jr., he is a former second-round pick in the final year of his rookie deal, looking to cash in on a large, new deal. Tulipulotu's contract situation could make him available in a trade should the 0-4 Chargers decide to have a fire sale ahead of a highly anticipated 2027 NFL Draft class.
He erupted for 13.0 sacks, the sixth most in the NFL, and 70 quarterback pressures, the 11th most in the league, in 2025 en route to earning his first Pro Bowl selection in 2025, and he's on pace for another strong season through the first quarter of 2026. He's up to 2.0 and 14 quarterback pressures already this season, despite Los Angeles having spent the sixth-most time in the NFL trailing their opponents at 2:13:59.
This is the splash move if Jerry truly wants to be "all in" again.
Dolphins LB Jordyn Books
The Dallas Cowboys reportedly tried to trade for Miami Dolphins linebacker Jordyn Brooks in the offseason, when he had just one year left on his contract, before Miami extended Brooks on a three-year, $48 million contract with $35 million guaranteed in the summer.
However, the Dolphins are in the middle of a tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild in Year 1, with new head coach Jeff Hafley and new general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan, both of whom come from the Green Bay Packers' draft-and-develop franchise model. Miami is 0-4 and has the NFL's worst scoring offense (11.5 points per game), and is the only team that has not led at any point in 2026. The Dolphins are also paying more for players not on their roster (an NFL-record $179 million in dead cap hits) than the players on their roster ($156 million).
Brooks is 29 years old and under contract through the 2029 season, his age-32 season. That's basically the rest of his prime. Jones not having to worry about Brooks' contract situation is likely a relief, and on a hopeless 2026 Dolphins team, he is still a bright spot. Pro Football Focus grades Brooks as the NFL's No. 12 overall linebacker with a defensive grade of 82.7. He would also be an immediate help to the Cowboys' league-worst run defense, which is allowing an average of 168.4 yards per game. Brooks ranks as PFF's No. 4 linebacker against the run with an 82.7 run defense grade.
Broncos WR/Returner Marvin Mims Jr.
One might look at this trade candidate and think, "Wait, a minute. Dallas is loaded at wide receiver with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens!" Yes, that is true, but this trade is more about special teams with a little bit of potential WR3 or WR4 upside. Denver Broncos wide receiver Marvin Mims Jr. is still a developing wide receiver at 24 years old, but he is already one of the NFL's best return men. Mims Jr. is a two-time Pro Bowl returner and earned first-team All-Pro returner accolades in 2024 when he led the NFL with a 15.7 yards per punt return average. He has both a kick and a punt return touchdown in his career, and he led the NFL with 452 punt return yards in 2025.
Dallas does have a three-time Pro Bowl and 2024 first-team All-Pro return man in KaVontae Turpin, but the shine may be wearing off the TCU product. He had a brutal fumble on a kickoff return in the loss to the Buccaneers on Thursday, and the 5-foot-7-inch, 170-pound return man is now 30 years old.
The Bucs force the fumble on the kickoff and get the ball right back!@TBvsDAL on Prime Video Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/PFpX0gXqBy
— NFL (@NFL) October 9, 2026
Turpin still remains one of the shiftiest and speediest returners in the league, but at his age and size, Dallas might want someone younger and slightly bigger in Mims, who is 5-feet-11-inches tall and weighs 182 pounds. The Cowboys might be able to get a draft pick for shipping Turpin out, and they could perhaps use that and another later-round pick to bring in a younger, bigger replacement. Plus, Mims went to high school down the street from the Cowboys' team facility, The Star, at Lone Star High School. Jones loves his hometown and Texas ties.
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