Jerry Jones: 'High Improbability' Cowboys Make Trade Ahead of 2020 Deadline

Don't expect the Dallas Cowboys to secure any last-minute trades to turn around their season after starting 2-6.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan's Shan & RJ (h/t ESPN's Todd Archer) there's a "high improbability" the team makes a move before the 4 p.m. ET trade deadline.

Jones doesn't appear to be in a selling mood either. He singled out defensive end Aldon Smith and wide receiver Michael Gallup as players who will be sticking around.

Jones also addressed the notion of tanking in the form of elevating younger players on the roster with an eye toward the future:

"I can see making sure that you get these guys those reps. The only way to have and get better in the NFL is [to get] reps. And game reps are precious, hard to come by. You don't get them by just that issue if you're sitting there competing for the championship. So I think you could see more young players, may should be doing it anyway. Candidly, in regard to that definition of tanking ... you may should be playing those players out there anyway. ... I don't see it as bright a line. Maybe you'd say, 'Jones, you've never seen anything bright-lined in your life.' And maybe that's right. But the point is ... I don't see bright lines with any part of that definition."

Giving up any assets with an eye toward contending now would be a fool's errand for the Cowboys. Dak Prescott's season-ending ankle injury derailed a playoff charge, and losing Andy Dalton to a concussion put the team into a deeper hole.

Even if Dallas were to somehow make the postseason, it would be a big underdog in its first game. Waving the white flag is a tough pill to swallow for a franchise that was thinking Super Bowl in the offseason, but it's the Cowboys' best move.

Eschewing a total fire sale and holding on to Smith and Gallup is defensible too.

Smith is a free agent in the offseason and likely in line for a multiyear contract, having registered five sacks through eight games. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported Dallas might be looking to keep the 2012 All-Pro in the fold beyond 2020:

Gallup, meanwhile, eclipsed 1,000 receiving yards in 2019. His numbers this year (26 receptions, 432 yards, one touchdown) aren't keeping pace with what he did a season ago, which is to be expected after Prescott's injury and the addition of CeeDee Lamb.

Lamb potentially makes Gallup surplus to requirements, and the third-year pass-catcher is a free agent in 2022.

By waiting until the offseason to trade Gallup, Dallas would have a much better idea of what it could get back in terms of draft capital.