FRISCO, Texas – Once again, the Cowboys threw their hat in the ring to acquire a top-tier safety.
But after reportedly having serious conversations with the Jets about trading for Jamal Adams, the Pro Bowl safety is staying put in New York.
The NFL's trade deadline passed at 3 p.m. on Tuesday without Adams being dealt to any team, nor the Cowboys making a move in addition to last Thursday's trade for veteran pass-rusher Michael Bennett.
Apparently, the Jets' asking price was just too steep for the Cowboys, who traded away their 2019 first-round pick for Amari Cooper. Reportedly, New York was asking for multiple first-round picks.
But Adams would've been the marquee safety the Cowboys have been coveting for nearly two years. The team had talks with the Seahawks about landing Earl Thomas, who eventually signed with the Ravens last spring in free agency.
Adams, a Dallas native who starred at Hebron High School before going to LSU, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft for the Jets. He made his first Pro Bowl in 2018 and was certainly a factor in the Jets' lone victory this year, beating the Cowboys, 24-22. It was Adams who blitzed the middle of the line on the Cowboys' final two-point conversion try, pressuring Dak Prescott into a quick throw that fell incomplete, which preserved New York's win.
In the last couple of years, the Cowboys have continued to give support to their starting safeties, Xavier Woods and Jeff Heath. In fact, last April the team reportedly chose not to draft the top safeties on the board and took defensive tackle Trysten Hill instead.
The Cowboys haven't drafted a safety in the first two rounds of the draft since 2002 when they took Roy Williams with the No. 8 overall pick.
