We’re down to the final week before teams can no longer execute trades. 

It’s time for a handful of teams to take a long look in the mirror and ask themselves: Are we sellers or buyers? Are we contenders or do we just stink?

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has plenty to think about for the next time he fires up the hopper to smoke some meat. I really wanted to use that line after what Jones said on Tuesday about why he doesn’t pay top dollar for coaches.

Anyway, back to the sellers and buyers argument. Teams will need to decide that by Nov. 10. So with that in mind, here’s a special trade deadline edition of NFL Fact or Fiction. 

Cowboys should trade WR George Pickens 

Jones is creating headlines again, but not because of trade speculation, which he likes to drop hints about this time of year. 

The Cowboys’ owner and GM was in the news because he said there’s no real value in paying top dollar for an NFL head coach. These conversations between Jones and the media must be so awkward for bargain-coach Brian Schottenheimer, who might be on the hot seat amid another disappointing season in Dallas. 

I’ll be quick on this topic because I want to get to the real conversations Jones should be having. Jones doesn’t splurge on big-name coaches because he doesn’t want anyone else overshadowing him and taking the bulk of credit if the Cowboys ever become Super Bowl contenders again. We all know about the drama between him and Jimmy Johnson. 

But the Cowboys (3–5) aren’t close to being real contenders and another splash trade likely won’t change that. They’ll be better off trading away a few players, including Pickens.

Dallas needs to be a seller and go back to the drawing board because this quick-fix plan that was initiated after the Micah Parsons trade before the 2025 season just hasn’t worked. The arrivals of Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams, Caleb Downs and Joey Porter Jr. haven’t improved the defense, and maybe there’s an argument to be made that this unit is in worse shape compared to what it had before Parsons left for Green Bay. Currently, the Cowboys are last in total defense with allowing 385.4 yards per game.

Jones likely won’t ever opt for a full rebuild, but he can still have a short-term plan. It just can’t involve winning this season. It’s time to waive the white flag on 2026 and shop around Pickens, who’s playing on the one-year franchise tag. 

Having two star receivers hasn’t done much for the Cowboys. Also, there’s plenty of depth at the position with CeeDee Lamb and Ryan Flournoy, who has taken targets from Pickens. (Their numbers are similar, with Flournoy having 30 catches for 342 yards and two touchdowns, and Pickens recording 39 catches for 533 yards and two touchdowns.) 

Jones says Pickens needs more targets, but this wide receiver surplus no longer makes sense. Running the ball more frequently could be the best way to keep this poor defense from repeatedly hurting the team. Trading Pickens could give Jones multiple picks to add more defensive reinforcements. 

Manzano’s view: Fact

The Jets should trade WR Garrett Wilson 

Wilson is another star receiver whose name has been thrown around the rumor mill. But the Jets should keep their best offensive player because his presence is needed to keep the rebuild headed in the right direction.

A 2–6 record doesn’t necessarily support the notion that the Jets are pointed in the right direction. I’ve said this before, but there’s plenty to like about this team in 2026. I’ll stop defending coach Aaron Glenn because his game management keeps getting worse. Still, this is a talented roster with strong cornerstone players in place. 

Wilson is one of those pillars, and so are the stud bookend tackles Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou. That’s why you’re seeing young pass catchers Omar Cooper Jr. and Kenyon Sadiq making plays and why third-year running back Braelon Allen is moving the chains. 

New York is blocking and Wilson’s presence is providing opportunities for teammates. It sounds strange to say, but they’re a quarterback away from having this figured out, at least offensively. Even veteran Geno Smith has looked good in this offense with 12 touchdowns and only three interceptions—teams are likely asking about the signal-caller in potential trades. 

Wilson is good for New York’s rebuild. He needs to stick around, especially because the Jets are already armed with three first-round picks, all of which are currently in the top 10 for next year’s draft.

Manzano’s view: Fiction 

It’s time the Vikings ditch Kyler Murray

Just last week, I said the Vikings shouldn’t trade for Kirk Cousins because they need to have more patience with Murray, something this team had very little of for J.J. McCarthy. 

But now I’m backpedaling at a furious pace because watching Jonathan Gannon and Drew Petzing in Week 8 reminded me of how much time Murray has had to get his career back on track. Gannon and Petzing had plenty of patience for Murray and they ended up being fired in Arizona. These coaches likely weren’t the problem, because Petzing, the former Cardinals offensive coordinator, is thriving under the same role with the Lions—he just contained Brian Flores’s red-hot Vikings defense. Gannon, who was the Cardinals’ head coach from 2023 to ’25, is also doing well as the Packers’ defensive coordinator. 

Murray hasn’t been a good downfield passer for quite some time—he has averaged less than seven yards per passing attempt in four of the past five seasons. He also isn’t relying on his mobility as much, which probably stems from all the injuries he has sustained in the past four seasons, including a concussion in his Vikings debut. 

The Cardinals waited too long to bench Murray. Sure, maybe they didn’t call it a benching, but they didn’t rush him back to the field last season and his release all but confirmed what we knew for a few months. Arizona was done waiting for Murray to rekindle the magic he had early in his career as the 2019 No. 1 pick. 

That player might never come back, and it’s now on the Vikings (6–1) to own up to their mistakes and play quarterback musical chairs once again. Maybe the Cardinals do what they couldn’t do for themselves and save the Vikings from Murray and trade them Gardner Minshew II, who looked good against the Cowboys last week. There’s also Smith with the Jets. 

Manzano’s view: Fact

The Texans need to hold onto edge rusher Danielle Hunter 

The other team from Texas should also take a long look in the mirror. The 2–5 Texans are not even contenders in their own division, with the Jaguars well ahead in the AFC South at 5–2. 

It’s time for Houston to accept that it should be a seller at the trade deadline. 

The acquisition of wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. was nice, but maybe he’ll be more helpful in 2027. Also, the offense hasn’t been the only problem in Houston. The star-studded defense has disappointed, which shouldn’t be the case with how much this team has invested on that side of the ball. 

It’s going to be difficult for the Texans to keep every star player on coach DeMeco Ryans’s defense. They’ve already paid Will Anderson Jr. and Derek Stingley Jr., and Kamari Lassiter is next in line for a lucrative contract extension. 

The Texans can gain a draft pick and create some cap space by trading Hunter, the 32-year-old edge rusher with a cap hit of $45 million for next season. Maybe they can get a desperate team like the Cowboys to give up a second-round pick for him. Several teams have likely already asked about Hunter, who has four sacks this season.  

Manzano’s view: Fiction