Quiet Deadline, Loud Sunday: Cowboys Stand Pat, Add Kendre Miller and Get Ready for Keenan Allen's 49ers

By Jake "Star" Whitfield, RF Sports Radio Cowboys voice

Cowboys Nation, the phone never rang, and Jerry Jones never picked it up. The NFL trade deadline came and went at 3 p.m. Central on Tuesday without a Dallas deal, and now a 4-5 team that is still alive in the NFC East has to beat a contender with the roster it already has.

The facts

Per FOX 4 and Dallas Sports Journal, the Cowboys did not make a trade before the deadline. Their only trade of the season is still the Sept. 30 deal for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., which cost a 2028 second-round pick and a 2027 sixth, per ESPN's trade tracker. DSJ, citing Spotrac, says Dallas holds four picks in the 2027 draft. George Pickens, playing on the franchise tag, was not moved; Jones said Pickens sitting out the Colts game was "100% pure injury related."

Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday morning, "I don't look for us to make a significant trade today," and he also said, "It's really not ringing," about his phone, per the team's website. The one promise he made was a running back. That turned out to be Kendre Miller, the former TCU back the Saints waived on Saturday. Pro Football Rumors, citing Clarence Hill Jr., reports Miller is signing to the practice squad, and ESPN's Todd Archer reported that cornerback Reddy Steward was released to make room. Miller had 57 carries for 159 yards and two touchdowns for New Orleans this season, per DSJ.

NFL.com's look at the deadline notes the defense is allowing 372 yards and 26 points a game and calls edge rusher the biggest need. The Giants lead the division at 5-2-1, and Dallas plays them in Week 17. Meanwhile, San Francisco added receiver Keenan Allen at the deadline, per FOX 4. "I'm very comfortable with our team," Brian Schottenheimer said Monday, per DSJ.

RF Sports Radio's take (opinion)

My take: standing pat was the right call, and I am not sure it was a close one. You do not trade future picks for a rental when you only have four picks next spring and your one big in-season trade has spent half its time in the training room. If Porter is healthy, he is your deadline addition.

What bugs me is the edge rush. NFL.com is right, that was the spot, and nobody came. That means Schottenheimer and the defensive staff have to scheme pressure, because the 49ers are not going to give Dallas time to figure it out.

Miller is a smart, cheap move. He is a local kid, he knows what NFL carries look like, and Javonte Williams needs somebody to take 8 to 10 touches a game off his plate.

Prediction: 49ers 27, Cowboys 23. Dallas hangs around, but the pass rush does not get home enough.

What to watch next

Watch Wednesday's first injury report of the week for Pickens and Porter, whether Miller gets elevated for Sunday, and how San Francisco uses Allen. The 49ers visit AT&T Stadium Sunday at 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. For our deadline-day preview, read our Nov. 10 deadline-day preview, and follow every move on our Dallas Cowboys page.

Radio question: did the Cowboys make the right call by standing pat, or should they have spent a pick on an edge rusher?

Sources: FOX 4 - Cowboys don't make any moves as trade deadline passes; Dallas Sports Journal via Yardbarker - Cowboys hold firm at trade deadline; Dallas Cowboys - Jerry Jones not expecting 'significant' trade; NFL.com - At 4-5, Cowboys stand down at trade deadline; Pro Football Rumors - Cowboys add RB Kendre Miller to practice squad; ESPN - 2026 NFL trade deadline tracker.