Extra, extra… read all about it! Someone poked Jerry Jones with a stick and he actually did something!

The Cowboys have made a deal early on the trade deadline day with the Carolina Panthers, trading for second-year pro Jonathan Mingo.

Dallas will acquire a 2025 7th-round selection along with Mingo, while giving up a 2025 4th-round pick.

This move is a headscratcher, to say the least, for both sides. For the Panthers, they trade away Dionta Johnson and Jonathan Mingo leaving Bryce Young (or Andy Dalton if they switch back) with rookie Xavier Legette, an injured Adam Thielen, and scraps.

The Cowboys are now 3-5 in a division where they trail the Washington Commanders by 3.5 games. The Cowboys have had injuries to their defensive line and secondary, their offensive line and running backs have been ineffective this year, and the Cowboys just lost their star quarterback Dak Prescott “for multiple weeks” with a hamstring injury.

Making a trade for Mingo appears to not address the root of the problem for the Cowboys, or not even begin digging into the weeds. But with Mingo coming to Dallas, the Cowboys add the 2023 2nd-round pick to a wide receiver room led by CeeDee Lamb with a veteran Brandin Cooks and a young man who has shown flashes in Jalen Tolbert. And on a rookie contract, it looks like Dallas made more of an investment for the next two seasons rather than a move that could help this year.

Mingo has 12 catches on 26 targets for 121 yards and 0 touchdowns in 2024. For his career, Mingo has played 24 games with 0 touchdowns. Grant it, that was playing for the Carolina Panthers who haven’t scored many touchdowns since 2023, just 23 as long as Mingo’s been on the team, tied for the lowest with the New York Giants.

We’ll see if the Cowboys are done making moves today as the trade deadline approaches at 4 pm ET.