The Dallas Cowboys may have staved off an October funeral for their 2026 season with a Monday night victory in Philadelphia. The 38-21 victory saw the club's normally explosive offense return after taking two weeks off in losses to the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The defense maintained their status quo in those two contests, which is to say they played just as horribly as they did in the first four games on the way to a 2-4 record.
Quiet as kept, though they haven't had major success, there's been some sprinkling in of hope in Christian Parker's attack. On Monday, there were more hints. The team looked putrid on the Eagles' three lengthy touchdown drives, but the defense looked good on the other five possessions. Can they look like
that more often than not? Is that enough of a baseline to go out and get more help?
There are definitely missing pieces to the defense, and of course the biggest hole is edge rusher. With a couple weeks remaining before the trade deadline, ESPN has identified Tampa Bay's Yaya Diabyas the fourth-best trade target and listed the Cowboys as a possible pursuit.
What Fowler is hearing: Tampa Bay beat Carolina handedly in Week 7, with Diaby exploding for three sacks. A loss would have put the Bucs at 1-6 and closer to dealing mode. Diaby, 27, is still on the radar, though, because Tampa is not poised to pay the 2027 free agent, and the emergence of second-year rusher David Walker (four sacks) gives the Bucs a natural replacement. Diaby needs a new contract, but an acquiring team could get a compensatory pick for him if he signs a substantial deal with another team in free agency.
Predicted chance of getting traded: 35%
What Bowen sees on tape: Diaby is a powerful and physical edge rusher with the temperament to set the edge against the run. He has three sacks and six tackles for loss in 2026, and he had 40 or more pressures in each of his past two seasons (with 11.5 total sacks over that time). He should be viewed as a quality starter.
The Bucs have a little bit of life, with their dominant Week 7 victory over the Carolina Panthers upon the return of QB Baker Mayfield. But another loss and they may be willing to work towards the future.
As mentioned Diaby is entering the final season of his rookie deal, and Spotrac is predicting a three-year, $54 million contract in Diaby's future when he hits the market. The Cowboys currently rank 13th in the NFC with only 10 sacks on the season, and no Cowboys edge rusher has two sacks on the season through seven games.
Dallas won't face another top team before the trade deadline, but they could find themselves above .500 in two weeks and that might convince Jerry Jones to go seek a missing piece.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: ESPN connects Cowboys with $54M Bucs trade target to help defense
