Dallas Cowboys

The National Federation of the Blind spoke out Wednesday regarding Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones' costume choice on Halloween.

In an attempt to poke fun at NFL officials, Jones dressed like a blind referee, wearing a striped shirt, large sunglasses and a white cane:

According to TMZ Sports, National Federation of the Blind Director of Public Relations Chris Danielsen called it "unfortunate" that Jones implied blind people are "incompetent," adding: "When anyone perpetuates that stereotype, it's harmful."

The 80-year-old Jones has owned the Cowboys since 1989, and he has always been among the most outspoken owners in the league on many issues, including officiating.

He could have been subject to punishment by the league for criticizing officials, but the NFL decided against disciplining him, per TMZ Sports.

Danielsen called for Jones to consider the fact that the Cowboys have blind fans when reflecting on his choice of costume: "He does have blind Cowboys fans. They show up at games and put on headsets or listen on the radio. It may be something for him to think about."

The Cowboys have established themselves as one of the top teams in the NFC this season at 6-2, putting them in a tie for second place in the NFC East with the New York Giants, behind only the 7-0 Philadelphia Eagles.

Dallas is on the bye this week, meaning it is in preparations to face the Green Bay Packers on the road at Nov. 13.

The Dallas Cowboys failed to add a wide receiver at Tuesday's NFL trade deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.

The Cowboys and Houston Texans engaged in discussions on a deal for Brandin Cooks "until the final minutes" before the deadline, per ESPN's Ed Werder. However, the trade couldn't get over the finish line before the clock struck 4 p.m. ET due to a disagreement on draft compensation and Cooks' $18 million guaranteed salary for 2023.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Oct. 30 that the Texans were open to trading Cooks at the deadline and were listening to offers for the veteran. In addition to the Cowboys, the Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants and Los Angeles Rams were considered possible trade partners.

Cooks missed Tuesday's practice, which led to speculation about his status with the franchise, but Texans head coach Lovie Smith told reporters he was excused from practice for "personal reasons."

The 29-year-old doesn't appear to be happy that he wasn't moved, either, tweeting shortly after the deadline:

Cooks would have been a great depth addition to the Dallas offense. In seven games this season, he has caught 32 passes for 354 yards, both team-leading marks, and one touchdown.

Through his nine-year NFL career, the Oregon State product has six 1,000-plus-receiving-yard seasons, including a 1,037-yard 2021 campaign.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are led by CeeDee Lamb, who has caught 42 passes for 556 yards and three touchdowns in eight games in 2022. Beyond Lamb, Dallas' wideout group has been unimpressive.

Fifth-year receiver Noah Brown ranks second on the team with 25 catches for 339 yards and one touchdown in seven games, while Michael Gallup has caught 12 passes for 135 yards and one touchdown in five games.

Simi Fehoko and Jalen Tolbert round out Dallas' receiving group, and they have combined for four catches for 28 yards. Fehoko has appeared in five games, and Tolbert has appeared in four games.

While the Cowboys are 6-2 on the season, adding another target for star quarterback Dak Prescott would have put the franchise in better position to compete with the 7-0 Philadelphia Eagles for the top spot in the NFC East.

The 2022 NFL trade deadline has come and gone, and the Dallas Cowboys failed to make a splash.

The Cowboys acquired defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins from the Las Vegas Raiders last week to bolster their defensive line depth, but Tuesday's deadline was ultimately a disappointment. They failed to make upgrades in other areas, including at wide receiver.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones told Mike Fisher of Cowboys Country on Sunday that he would "pull the trigger [if the right deal presents itself]" and that he was "not afraid" of taking a risk. But with nothing to show at Tuesday's deadline, fans are lashing out at the longtime Cowboys owner on Twitter:

Denver Broncos wideout Jerry Jeudy, Houston Texans receiver Brandin Cooks and Carolina Panthers receiver DJ Moore were among the options whom the Cowboys might have pursued at the trade deadline. Any one of them would have been a nice upgrade, but Dallas will instead roll into the second half without any additions out wide.

CeeDee Lamb leads the team with 42 catches for 556 and three touchdowns, while Noah Brown ranks second with 25 catches for 339 yards and one score. Michael Gallup, Simi Fehoko and and Jalen Tolbert make up the rest of the wideout unit.

The Cowboys are 6-2, but it's hard to imagine them competing with the 7-0 Philadelphia Eagles for first place in the NFC East after failing to upgrade their receiving corps.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team's trade talks could get "feverish" in the final hours before Tuesday's 2022 NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET.

Jones confirmed on 105.3 The Fan that the Cowboys have "some things we're entertaining" but tempered expectations about whether any deals actually get done.

"Better chance of nothing happening than of something happening," Jones said. "... I'm standing by the track, and when the train comes by, I'm ready to hit that caboose and not let it get by me. I can grab that caboose in the next few hours."

The Cowboys are in a solid position as the regular season gets set to pass the halfway mark.

Their 6-2 record ranks second in the NFC East behind the Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) and was built despite starting quarterback Dak Prescott missing four games with a thumb injury. They're also two games clear of the conference's playoff cut line, which stands at 4-4.

So it isn't a situation where Dallas must make a trade Tuesday to establish itself as a contender, but it sounds like Jones is at least surveying the market for possible upgrades.

"We are evaluating the fit," the franchise's longtime owner told Mike Fisher of Sports Illustrated on Sunday. "I promise you, I will pull the trigger [if the right deal presents itself]. I've told you I'm still a wild-catter. I'm still a risk-taker. We are not afraid of taking that risk."

Wide receiver is the position most commonly named when talking about a potential Cowboys trade.

CeeDee Lamb continues to establish himself as a No. 1 NFL receiver, but Michael Gallup has struggled to make a consistent impact since returning from a torn ACL, and James Washington has yet to play this season because of a foot injury.

An NFL Network report listed the Denver Broncos' Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, New England Patriots' Kendrick Bourne and Nelson Agholor, Houston Texans' Brandin Cooks and Pittsburgh Steelers' Chase Claypool among the wideouts who could be moved.

At least three of those options—Jeudy, Cooks and Claypool—would seem like ideal targets for the Cowboys, especially since the position will remain a need even if Washington returns soon given Gallup's lackluster production.

None of those potential trade targets will come cheap, however, and Jones told Fisher it would take the right type of deal to move future draft picks.

"We don't have an area on our team that makes me desperate," Jones said. "But I'm willing to do it, and I'll give up future currency to get it done.''

It's possible the Cowboys pass on the trade options and instead make a push for free-agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. once he's ready to return for a torn ACL suffered in February's Super Bowl.

If Dallas does make a move before the deadline, the new arrival will have some extra time to prepare for his debut since the team is on a bye this week.

The Cowboys return to action Nov. 13 when they visit Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers.

The Dallas Cowboys look like one of the best teams in the NFC at 6-2, but they may be even better if owner Jerry Jones is aggressive ahead of Tuesday's trade deadline.

It seems like that is his plan.

"When if I have a chance to do something that would be interpreted but real meat on the bone of going for it, then I would do that," Jones said, per Kevin Gray Jr. of 105.3 The Fan. "I feel that good about our chances here. I would do that. Yeah, and I'd give up some future currency to go for it."

Dallas would have surely been pleased with a 6-2 start coming into the season, and that is even more the case had it known Dak Prescott was going to miss significant time.

The two-time Pro Bowler suffered a thumb injury that required surgery during the Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In past years, that might have spelled the end of the team's chances to realistically compete in the NFC East.

Instead, Cooper Rush went 4-1 as a starter, not only keeping the Cowboys afloat, but also putting them into position to make a run later in the season.

Prescott is now back and led his side to two straight victories over NFC North squads in the Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears. He went 21-of-27 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and one interception during the win over the Bears on Sunday as the team exploded for 49 points.

The question now is whether the team will add any depth ahead of the trade deadline.

The defense looked like it can take some strides even with Micah Parsons among the league's most dominant players. Chicago averaged 5.6 yards per carry on the way to 240 yards and two scores on the ground, which helped it climb back into the game in the third quarter.

Health may be something of a concern, as running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receiver Noah Brown were among those who missed Sunday's contest with injuries.

Dallas is headed to a bye week and now has time to assess its roster, which is ideal timing with the trade deadline. Catching the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC East may be too tall a task, but the Cowboys look like potential contenders and could be aggressive with that chance.

Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard seemed to establish himself as the top option in the backfield with his three-touchdown performance in Sunday's 49-29 win over the Chicago Bears.

However, Cowboys CEO Jerry Jones said after the game that the team is not giving up on Ezekiel Elliott, who sat out the game with a knee injury.

"We go as Zeke goes. … He's as important as he was before the game," Jones told reporters after Sunday's victory.

Pollard finished with 131 yards and three scores on 14 carries, including a long run of 54 yards. It was a season high in carries for him as well as his second 100-yard game of the year, the last one coming in Week 3 against the New York Giants.

Elliott, on the other hand, has not eclipsed the 100-yard mark in his seven starts this season and has a streak of 19 games under the century mark dating back to 2021. He's topped 80 yards in a game just once in 2022 and has finished with 15 or fewer carries five times. The 27-year-old has rushed for 443 yards and four touchdowns on 109 carries.

The Cowboys are now facing an interesting set of circumstances. Pollard is clearly more effective than Elliott, but it's Elliott who has the backing from the team's higher-ups. Their position is somewhat understandable, considering Elliott is earning a base salary of $12.4 million this season.

For his part, Pollard isn't trying to start a running back controversy despite many believing he's capable of handling lead-back duties.

"I mean, I’m always trying to go out there and show what I can do, prove myself right, prove others wrong and just play team ball," Pollard said this week leading up to the game, per ESPN's Todd Archer.

The Cowboys will be on a bye next week, giving them extra time to figure out their running back situation before returning to action on Nov. 13 against the Green Bay Packers.

Dak Prescott is back.

The Dallas Cowboys quarterback started his second game since returning from a thumb injury, and he enjoyed his best performance of the season as the Cowboys downed the Chicago Bears 49-29 on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.

Prescott went 21-of-27 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and an interception and carried the ball five times for 34 yards and one score.

There was never going to be a genuine quarterback battle resulting from the five-week interlude with Cooper Rush as the starter. That run did at least embolden Prescott's critics to question his value to the team.

Sunday was an emphatic response to that group.

Sunday's contest also provided the Cowboys with a glimpse into what life after Ezekiel Elliott might look like. Tony Pollard took over for the injured Elliott and ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

You'd expect Elliott to remain the starter when he's healthy again, but days like this will leave Dallas feeling more confident about potentially letting him go this offseason.

We've seen this story play out so many times, with the Cowboys raising expectations in the regular season and falling apart in the playoffs.

After the team put together an offensive performance like this, you can understand why Dallas fans are talking themselves into believing things will be different in 2022.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones praised Odell Beckham Jr. as the free-agent wide receiver continues to recover from a torn ACL suffered during the Super Bowl in February.

Jones referenced OBJ's remarkable one-handed catch against the Cowboys in 2014 during his comments Friday on 105.3 The Fan (via Jon Machota of The Athletic).

"He made the greatest catch I've seen, other than the one Dez [Bryant] made for the touchdown against Green Bay," Jones said. "Bottom line is, Odell is a player that I admire a lot."

Beckham, who began his career as a member of the New York Giants, has enjoyed plenty of success against Dallas in the past. He's recorded 40 catches for 558 yards and seven touchdowns in eight regular-season appearances against America's Team.

In 2020, the three-time Pro Bowler discussed his family's Cowboys fandom.

"All of my family grew up in Texas so they are all huge Cowboy fans," Beckham said. "It has always been kind of a funny story with them as far as being in New York and them being in Dallas. I do not have any animosity, hate or rivalry with them."

Beckham still doesn't have a firm timetable for his return from the knee injury, but he wants to "assess his options" once healthy before signing to ensure he's joining a title contender for the final stages of the season, per Jeff Howe of The Athletic.

The Cowboys, who own a 5-2 record, could fall into that category, but whether they're in the market for another receiver is unclear.

Dallas is operating with CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup and Noah Brown in three-wide sets, and James Washington could return from a foot injury during the season's second half.

Beckham could provide an upgrade as a No. 2 option behind Lamb if he quickly returns to peak form, but adding another target for quarterback Dak Prescott probably isn't atop the front office's to-do list.

Dallas is back in action Sunday when it hosts the Chicago Bears before heading into its bye week.