It was an open secret that the Dallas Cowboys came into the 2017 NFL Draft wanting to remake their defense, primarily by adding talent along the defensive line and in the defensive backfield. They've done just that with their first three selections, adding Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton in the first round, Colorado cornerback Chidobe Awuzie in the second round, and Michigan corner Jourdan Lewis in the third round.
After the second of those picks, a report surfaced from NFL.com that the Cowboys were looking to trade starting cornerback Orlando Scandrick, who is likely the team's best corner at this point -- and easily the most experienced.
Asked about the rumor on Friday evening, Jerry Jones strongly denied its veracity, stating that the report did not come from anyone inside the organization and that Scandrick is a big part of the team's plans.
Scandrick is 30 years old and heading into the third year of a five-year, $19 million contract he signed back in 2015. He's scheduled to count against the Cowboys' cap for just south of $5.3 million in each of the next two seasons before they can get out of the deal for just $1.6 million in dead money while creating $4 million in cap space.
That season would coincidentally be the final year of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott's rookie contracts, otherwise known as the last year the Cowboys will really have a chance to add impact players in free agency if they so choose. (They've eschewed high-dollar free agent signings in recent years, but after they clear Tony Romo's large number off the books, that may change.) That seems a much more likely time for them to cut ties with Scandrick than this season, especially when you consider that three of the five corners on the roster (Awuzie, Lewis, and 2016 sixth-rounder Anthony Brown) have a year of experience or less.