The Dallas Cowboys wasted little time adding a healthy wide receiver following Dez Bryant’s injury.
The team traded for former seventh-round pick Brice Butler on Tuesday, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com reported the Oakland Raiders received a conditional pick in return, while Charean Williams of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram added "Dallas will swap its fifth-round pick for the Raiders' sixth in 2016" if the Cowboys include Butler on their 53-man roster for six games.
Butler himself seemed thrilled to move from Oakland to a Super Bowl contender in Dallas, and he took to Twitter after the news: “Now it’s time to play for America’s team! Cowboys Nation I’m coming!!!”
In two seasons with the Raiders, Butler posted 383 receiving yards and two touchdown catches (both came last year). He did not play for the team in its Week 1 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The numbers don’t exactly stand out, but Chris Burke of Sports Illustrated cautioned against dismissing the move from Dallas’ perspective:
It is no wonder the Cowboys added receiving depth since Bryant had surgery to insert a screw in his broken foot and has a “fluid” recovery time of potentially eight weeks, as Chris Mortensen of ESPN noted.
Bryant is a perennial All-Pro who topped 1,200 receiving yards in each of the last three years and led the league with 16 touchdown catches in 2014. Dallas couldn’t afford to ignore that missing impact while its receiver heals.
The Cowboys do have other pass-catchers in Terrance Williams (1,357 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns in 2013 and 2014), Cole Beasley and Lance Dunbar. Dunbar actually led the team with 70 receiving yards in the Week 1 win over the New York Giants, and Williams brings size (6’2”, 208 lbs) and speed to the table as a red-zone threat.
Jason Witten is also one of the best tight ends in the NFL and caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the closing seconds against the New York Giants.
Even with these options, there is an enormous hole in the passing attack without Bryant. Fans cannot realistically expect Butler to fill it, but he at least gives the Cowboys some much-needed depth for a critical upcoming stretch of games against the Philadelphia Eagles, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Giants and Seattle Seahawks.
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567340-brice-butler-to-cowboys-latest-trade-details-comments-and-reaction
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