Jerry Jones Details Cowboys’ Thinking Behind Broderick Jones Trade

DALLAS — Ten days after trading for Broderick Jones, Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the deal upgraded the flexibility of the offensive line. His weekly in-season appearance on the Shan & RJ show on 105.3 The Fan cut off midway through that answer when the phone connection failed.

Dallas acquired Jones and a 2027 fourth-round pick on Aug. 29 in exchange for third- and sixth-round picks in 2027. To open a roster spot, the Cowboys released wide receiver Denzel Mims.

Jerry Jones On Why The Dallas Cowboys Traded For Broderick Jones

For Jerry Jones, the value of the addition runs through the interior as much as the edges, and it connects to what Dallas is doing with Tyler Smith.

“Bringing Jones, you upgraded the flexibility that we have,” Jones said. “In many cases, those guys can be interchangeable. Guards can move to tackle and tackles can move internally. Really glad we made that move.”

Broderick Jones went 14th overall in the 2023 draft out of Georgia, after Pittsburgh traded up three spots with the New England Patriots. He has played 45 career games with 38 starts. A neck injury in November 2025 ended his season and required spinal fusion surgery. He was cleared for football activities at the start of training camp.

Pittsburgh declined his fifth-year option on April 30 and spent the 21st overall pick in the 2026 draft on a tackle. Jones is due a base salary of $1.5 million this season and can reach free agency in 2027.

Broderick Jones And Terence Steele At Right Tackle

Brian Schottenheimer said Jones and Terence Steele are competing for the starting right tackle job. Steele signed with Dallas as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech in 2020 and has appeared in 96 games with 90 starts, including 17 last season. In 2023 he signed a five-year, $86.8 million extension. Much of camp in Oxnard, California, was spent shuffling tackles and looking for more consistency from Steele.

Dallas cleared further room at the position by trading tackle Nate Thomas to the Houston Texans for a 2027 seventh-round pick. Cowboys coaches have also been reworking Broderick Jones’ technique since he arrived from Pittsburgh.

Smith, meanwhile, is headed for surgery on his left thumb and a four-to-six-week absence, which Jerry Jones addressed earlier in the same interview.

“He really exacerbated that injury that he came to California with,” Jones explained. “So we all thought that he could work through it. It probably was something he could work through when we got back here two weeks ago. But he’s probably made that injury to the point we agree it’s fixed long haul.”

No starter has been named at right tackle. The Cowboys open the season Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with kickoff against the New York Giants set for 7:20 p.m. CT on NBC.