FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are trying to muscle up the roster and are specifically trying to built a defense that can stop the run.
It's been a bugaboo around here for a while, under a number of different coordinators, and maybe the reason is that in terms of that "salary cap pie,'' the front office has made a defensive tackle something other than a priority.
That doesn't always go for the 3-tech guy ... as this offseason the defensive line will be led in part by Osa Odighizuwa, who Dallas re-signed via free agency.
But otherwise?
It's a mad scramble to get help.
In this offseason's draft, Dallas used a Day 3 selection on UCLA nose tackle Jay Toia and another one on Tommy Akingbesote, two massive bodies who will compete at camp with Mazi Smith, a former first-rounder of Dallas a few seasons ago.
Mazi had that NFL Draft pedigree but not much else.
So ...
Other than Odighizuwa, this group still features a lot of question marks, and that includes veteran newcomer Solomon Thomas, who figures mostly as a 3-tech guy.
The Cowboys - last year graded as the 30th-worst run-stopping defense by Pro Football Focus - have every reason to explore some more.
And that's why we use the Fish Report to touch on the idea of the Cowboys trading for the Detroit Lions starting run-stuffer D.J. Reader.
Reader is 31, so he's not on his last legs, which has been another model for Dallas' attempts to seek help. Indeed, he posted impressive numbers last year for an interior lineman, as as a 15-game starter he ended up totaling 23 tackles, a career high 3.0 sacks and six quarterback hits.
Reader is a 6-3, 335-pound wide body ... and yet despite it all there are rumors that have Detroit moving on.
So what stands in Dallas' way of making a call here? After all, just this week, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones insisted the team isn't "done'' in making roster-building moves?
Well, it's that darn "salary cap pie.''
Reader is entering the second and final year of his $22 million contract. The breakdown for 2025? He essentially costs almost $13 million.
There is, to put it bluntly, about a zero-percent chance that Dallas trades for him and picks up that salary.
If he is released by Detroit?
Now we're talking.
Jerry Jones' Cowboys have executed four trades this offseason ... so far. So there is no resistance to making moves and Dallas isn't sitting on its hands here.
And yes, D.J. Reader could be a final puzzle piece for a Dallas team seeking a return to the playoffs. But that comes at a cost ... and paying $13 million for a run-stuffing nose guard does not fit Dallas' view of "the right cost.''
