Troy Aikman recently expressed skepticism regarding a trade announcement made by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. During an appearance on ESPN”s Monday Night Countdown prior to the Cowboys” matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, Aikman commented on Jones”s decision to announce a trade without providing specifics.
“I don”t know what that move is, I don”t know who it might be,” Aikman remarked. “I think it”s interesting that you announce there”s a trade, but you”re not going to announce who it is. What do they have to give up, and what exactly does that look like? I guess we will all be evaluating that tomorrow sometime.”
The trade announcement came as Jones spoke on SiriusXM Radio earlier that day, telling Stephen A. Smith that the Cowboys have completed one trade and hinted at the possibility of more before the deadline. “A lot of action going on right now in terms of trading. We certainly have made a trade, and we may make a couple more trades before that deadline,” Jones stated, as reported by NFL.com. “We”ve made one. We possibly could make two more, and I”m going to wait and let you read about that when we send the papers in tomorrow.”
Before Aikman”s segment, Jones had been on the show discussing the trade further. “Well, I hope you will appreciate that since the deadline is tomorrow, the details are tomorrow,” he said. “The idea is are we busy thinking about it, or am I sitting up here thinking about the oil and gas, or am I trying to build a team? That”s trying to get our defense ready to go. I”ve taken a little kidding about some of my comments recently about our oil and gas business.”
Jones emphasized the urgency of the situation, indicating that this is a critical time for the Cowboys to strengthen their roster. “But seriously, this is the time when we have a chance to help the Cowboys. Any time that I can do that, we burn the midnight oil and there”s a good chance we”ll have some things to talk about tomorrow.”
Following the trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers prior to the 2025 season, the Cowboys are particularly in need of a pass rusher. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the Cowboys have been in discussions with the Cincinnati Bengals regarding defensive end Trey Hendrickson and linebacker Logan Wilson. Additionally, Dallas has reached out to the Miami Dolphins about defensive end Bradley Chubb.
As the Cowboys entered Monday”s game with a record of 3-4-1, their struggles have largely stemmed from a defense that ranks low across various metrics in the league. Therefore, Jones is hopeful that acquiring a top defender can provide a much-needed boost for the second half of the season.
