While we appreciate the optimism of the good folks at Pro Football Focus, we must take umbrage, in a Cowboys context, with one of the site’s most recent articles, which proposes to identify, as the headline says, “One last offseason move for all 16 NFC teams.” With holes remaining on the roster and at least two major stars—Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb—in need of extension, we’re expecting more than one last move from the Dallas Cowboys.
Still, the spot PFF identifies as needing another body is, obviously, one that most any observer would agree with: Wide receiver. We can be sure that the Cowboys agree on that front, because they just had former Jaguars free-agent receiver Zay Jones in for a visit.
Jones is a candidate to fill the role that Michael Gallup struggled to fill before he was released in March, as a field-stretcher alongside Lamb and Brandin Cooks. He is also scheduled to visit with the Kansas City Chiefs, so getting him in Dallas is no shoo-in.
And PFF has another suggestion: controversial former Saints star Michael Thomas, who was arguably the best receiver in the game back in 2019 before a series of injuries, mostly to his ankle, and intra-team battles with his coach and quarterback derailed a potentially Hall of Fame career.
Cowboys Make Sense for Michael Thomas
Indeed, Dallas would be a sensible place for a talented star like Thomas to rebuild what remains of his career. He is 31 years old, so his days of leading the league in receptions (he did that twice and set and NFL record for catches with 149 in 2019) and yardage (he did that once) are behind him. But he is still a high-ceiling, low-risk gamble at a position of need for Dallas.
Wrote PFF, which also suggested speedy but inconsistent Chiefs receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling: “As things stand, third-year wide receiver Jalen Tolbert figures to receive an expanded role in the Cowboys’ offense, with the team having little at the position outside of him, Brandin Cooks and star CeeDee Lamb.
“Tolbert has seen just 39 targets in two NFL seasons, so Dallas could be a landing spot for Michael Thomas or even Marquez Valdes-Scantling.”
Thomas certainly needs a change of scenery, as he struggled last year even after the departure of ex-Saints coach Sean Payton, with whom Thomas publicly feuded over the timing of his ankle surgery in 2020. He totaled 448 yards in 10 games in 2023, with one touchdown catch.
Controversy Has Been a Hallmark
But while the Cowboys could give Tolbert a chance to win the No. 3 job, they would be wise not to rely on him going forward. He was a third-round pick from South Alabama in 2022, and has logged 24 catches for 280 yards with two touchdowns in his two seasons. He posted a grade of 56.5 at Pro Football Focus, which ranked 103rd out of 128 receivers in the NFL.
Thomas, by way of comparison, posted a grade of 67.4, which was a career low, at PFF.
His exit from New Orleans was ugly, though, and that would have to give the Cowboys pause. The team implied several times that he had not been honest about his injuries, and the fact that he was given a record $97 million contract helped make him an easy target.
Thomas also had legal woes last season, as he was, according to ESPN, “arrested on misdemeanor charges of simple battery and criminal mischief,” in November, when he had an altercation with a contractor who was doing work in Thomas’ neighborhood. The contractor accused Thomas of throwing a brick at his windshield.
It did not help, either, that Thomas lodged social-media complaints against new Saints quarterback Derek Carr, complaining that he did not get him the ball enough and that a “bad ball” helped get Thomas injured.
So, Thomas would come to the Cowboys with baggage, no doubt. But he would come with a very impressive resume as well.
