Cowboys Trade for Patrick Surtain? Top 10 Truths

1 - Why is this is a "thing''? Easy - because Surtain the Elder made it so. Following the Broncos’ embarrassing 70-20 loss to the Miami Dolphins in Week 3, Surtain’s father posted on social media something we view as an ugly take.

“Toiling in the soil!! SMH 2 you deserve better,” tweeted Surtain, the “2” referring to his son's jersey number.

As always, we wish family and friends would understand how counterproductive these sort of actions are. They don't help the player, the team or the situation.

But what's done is done. Dad has "created'' a firestorm of even more negativity and controversy than existed before.

2 - What did the Cowboys think of him in that draft? As CowboysSI.com reported exclusively at the time, Dallas was calling Miami in an attempt to move up into the top four spots in order to chase a cornerback, Surtain or Horn. (And Dad loved the idea, calling his son and Dallas "a perfect fit. The Cowboys, unable to pull off that deal, engineered their way to drafting Micah Parsons, which worked out quite well.)

So yes, Dallas had a superior grade on Surtain, who played at Alabama, as did Diggs.

3 - Is Surtain really that good? Sure, but ... he and everybody else on the Broncos defense just gave up 70 points in an NFL game - which makes it all the more odd and unfortunate that anybody in his circle would essentially point fingers at the other 52 Broncos.

As pointed out by Mile High Huddle at SI: "Normally an airtight defender, Surtain II finished with zero pass breakups while allowing a career-high four receptions for 99 yards and a touchdown to Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. He earned a paltry 47.8 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus.''

So, again ... this is the wrong week for the Surtain family to be bragging about what Patrick "deserves.''

But overall, of course. In 2022 he made a Pro Bowl appearance and was a First-Team All-Pro selection.He's an automatic starter on virtually any NFL team, including Dallas - now that Diggs is out, anyway.

4 - Why would the Broncos give up on him? We assume, frankly, that they would not. It is worth nothing that the Broncos kind of "gave up'' last year when they traded pass-rusher Bradley Chubb for a first-round draft pick. So there is precedent in Denver. But ... Brilliant talent, so much invested, affordable rookie contract, value at its lowest ... We almost want to stop the exercise right here. Except ...

5 - Is there an "arms race'' issue here? This is where the media speculation, irresponsible or otherwise, rears its head. A website called Niners Nation posed the idea of the 49ers doing a deal for Surtain.

What is the backbone of that speculation? San Francisco has more than $40 million in cap space.

6 - Can Dallas do that, cap-wise? Our as-always short answer: Any team can make virtually any move it wishes to make if it's willing to use all the tools available ... including the risky move of pushing money into the future - which in Dallas' case means tearing up the cap blueprint they've tried to adhere to so as to stay a contender over the long haul.

7 - Is there an argument to be made that Dallas should "tear up the blueprint''? A key word from above is "virtually.'' Paying another big-money superstar while they're earmarking money for coming deals for CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons and others, in the minds of the Cowboys front office, is not a practical idea.

8 - How much would it cost now - and then? Surtain, just 23, could soon become the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL. He’s eligible for a contract extension after this season, and so even while he's under contract through 2025 (when his employer picks up his fifth-year option), a gigantic payday is coming.

Diggs' new deal pays him an APY of $19.4 million. The NFL's top cornerback salary is $21 million APY. Surtain will be logically looking to top that, and become the highest-paid player at his position in league history.

9 - Oh, what about the actual trade cost? What would Denver want? The Chubb deal netted the Broncos one first-rounder. Niners Nation seems to lean that way in a guessed-at price.

But as noted by The Athletic, a most recent parallel could be the 2019 deal in which Jacksonville received two first-round picks and a fourth-rounder when they traded another young All-Pro cornerback, Jalen Ramsey, to the Rams in 2019.

10 - Two first-round picks!? Jerry Jones would never do that ... right? Right. Except ... after that "F Them Picks!'' Rams team did it - fully knowing that going "all-in'' would damage their future cap balance - Jalen Ramsey helped them go to two Super Bowls in the next four years. Just sayin'.