The Dallas Cowboys are primed to begin the 2024 season fielding a defense that’s loaded with playmakers at all three levels, which makes competition for starting jobs and roster spots fierce as the preseason wears on.
Given that Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker are entrenched as the starting safeties and that the Cowboys have young players Marquese Bell and Juanyeh Thomas waiting in the wings, the opportunities for safeties buried on the depth chart could be hard to come by.
Could the Dallas Cowboys trade Israel Mukuamu?
As teams approach the deadline to cut the roster down to 53 players for the upcoming season, Bleacher Report’s Ryan Fowler listed one player each team should have on the trading block in the waning days of the preseason.
It isn’t surprising to see Israel Mukuamu make the list, given the Cowboys’ crowded secondary.
“While the departure of Jayron Kearse initially looked like an opportunity for Mukuamu to work into more snaps,” Fowler writes for B/R. “He projects to enter the year behind a long list of Cowboys secondary defenders. Each of Markquese Bell, Malik Hooker, Donovan Wilson and Juanyeh Thomas remain higher on the depth chart than the South Carolina product in Mukuamu.
“A change of scenery could work wonders for Mukuamu, while a return of a Day 3 pick in next year’s draft for Dallas could spark movement.”
Mukuamu has the requisite size and physicality to make an impact, at 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, he just never quite found any consistent playing time or production under former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
It remains to be seen what new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer thinks of Mukuamu, but his playing time appears to have a built-in ceiling given the Cowboys’ safety depth.
But, at age 24, and with 16 tackles in 29 games played, given that he plays a premium position Mukuamu could be a viable piece for a team with depth concerns as the regular season approaches.
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