Davante Adams trade rumors: Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy has ‘tremendous love, respect’ for WR

FRISCO, Texas —  Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys could use another wide receiver with No. 2 wideout Brandin Cooks dealing with a “knee issue” — in the words of the head coach.

One of McCarthy’s former star pupils in Las Vegas Raiders All-Pro Davante Adams may be available via trade with the receiver reportedly requesting a trade on Tuesday. McCarthy, as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers, drafted Adams 53rd overall in the 2014 NFL Draft out of Fresno State, and the first two of Adams’ six Pro Bowl selections came with the then-Packers head coach’s offense in 2017 and 2018. 

However, McCarthy expressed a confidence in the likes of 2022 third-round pick Jalen Tolbert, Pro Bowl return man KaVontae Turpin, 2023 seventh-round pick Jalen Brooks and 2024 sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy picking up the slack in Cooks’ absence. 

“Personally, I have tremendous love and respect for Davante,” McCarthy said on Wednesday. “I had a chance to see him out there in Vegas in the preseason [Week 2], so I don’t really know exactly what’s going on there. Once again, we do feel very confident with our receiver room.”

McCarthy specifically shouted out Tolbert’s training camp development this past offseason when he was able to get more reps than usual with quarterback Dak Prescott while wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was holding out for the four-year, $136 million extension he signed at the end of August. 

“I think really all those guys when, as a young player in this league regardless of the position, when you get reps regardless of how you get them, there’s tremendous value in that,” McCarthy said. “And I think you can clearly see what Jalen’s done, he does a lot of the little things right. He has a really good connection with Dak and the quarterbacks. And it’s only going to get better. That’s the beauty of if you look at the top connections between quarterbacks and receivers, just you look at Dak and CeeDee as they continue to play year in and year out, those relationships and connections, they take time to develop.”

The biggest thing McCarthy appreciates in the wide receiver position is versatility, something he has observed in the speedy Turpin, among others. 

“Think if you watch us play over the course of a season, the important component in our receiver group is their ability to be able to move them in all three spots,” McCarthy said. “Whether it’s the one spot, two spot, three spot, it’s something guys can even play what I could call the four spot, which would be in the backfield, which obviously CeeDee and Turp have played there. Yeah, their flexibility is important.”

Adams would be a great addition to pair with Lamb, but between Dallas’ looming top-dollar extension for three-time All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons next offseason, owner and general manager Jerry Jones may be hesitant to part with a high-round pick or two to acquire Adams. Especially since he is someone who will be looking for a new deal with 2024 being the final year of his current five-year, $140 million contract that includes guaranteed money. That would likely make three-time All-Pro receiver a rental in Dallas, something Jones typically hasn’t been comfortable with doing.