Did the Dallas Cowboys settle with the Stephon Gilmore trade?
The Dallas Cowboys made a pretty bold move to go and get Stephon Gilmore in a trade from the Indianapolis Colts, but was this the right move for Dan Quinn’s defense? Did the Cowboys sell themselves short? Is this move a bigger impact on paper than it will actually end up being on the football field?
Gilmore is one of the most decorated cornerbacks of the last decade. He has made it to five Pro Bowls, two All-Pro teams, and he was the NFL defensive player of the year in 2019. He’s certainly been an elite player at his craft but are those days long gone?
The Cowboys will be Gilmore’s fourth team in four seasons. He was with the Patriots in 2020, the Panthers in 2021, and the Colts in 2022. Now, the Cowboys are going to hope he can be a steady starter opposite Trevon Diggs in Dan Quinn’s defense.
And frankly, the Cowboys have reason to believe this is going to end up being a very good move.
Stephon Gilmore still effective, can be a steal for the Dallas Cowboys
The question we asked in the title of this post is, did the Cowboys settle with Stephon Gilmore? The reason we ask that question is because someone like Jalen Ramsey was available for a third-round pick (if your team was willing to pay up on a new contract). Byron Murphy went for just $11 million per season. The cornerback market hasn’t been overly robust and the Cowboys — even getting a former DPOY — maybe didn’t get the top player available on the market.
But this is a defense, being run by Dan Quinn, that can perfectly suit Gilmore’s skills at this point in time. The Cowboys know how to get after the quarterback, and Gilmore knows how to capitalize in man coverage when quarterbacks are making rushed decisions. Not only that, but with Trevon Diggs on the other side, Gilmore’s not going to have to go out of his way to be following #1 receivers around all game.
The answer to the question of whether the Dallas Cowboys settled? They did not.
The hype around trading for Stephon Gilmore is not the same as it would be if the Dallas Cowboys had traded for Jalen Ramsey, but it’s certainly not as costly, either. You get Gilmore for under $8 million and only a fifth-round pick as draft compensation going back to the Colts. That’s a good bargain for the Cowboys as they look to reload this coming season and get further in the playoffs.
Gilmore may not be the Defensive MVP he once was, but he’s the type of player who could fit in perfectly with this Dallas Cowboys defense as the type of veteran presence to take them to the next level.