The Dallas Cowboys say they don’t want to be sellers ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline. But one young player on their roster looks like a candidate for a move, provided a team out there still believes in him: cornerback Shavon Revel Jr.

The Cowboys made Revel a healthy scratch on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, which came as a big surprise. Dallas has a losing record, and getting where it wants to be in 2026 will be tough. The division is still a possibility, but the New York Giants lead it at 4-2-1 and already own a win over the Cowboys.

Still, Dallas could sell if the price is right. Let’s take a closer look. 

Why a Revel deal would look different

The Cowboys have said publicly they probably won’t sell pieces unless a Micah Parsons-style return is on the table. That tracks. Their M.O. at this time of year has never been that of a team willing to sell when things aren’t going well.

I’ve always pointed to the 2024 Jonathan Mingo trade as an example. With the season already slipping away, the Cowboys still decided to be buyers at the deadline. The 2025 Quinnen Williams trade is another, although that one was different because of the caliber of player involved. Williams was a candidate for a long-term extension and a piece to help replace Parsons, which was the problem Dallas was trying to fix at the time.

A Revel trade would resemble the Mingo deal far more than the Williams one, but this time with the Cowboys as sellers. 

The expectation for Revel in 2026 was that he could compete with Cobie Durant, and maybe even DaRon Bland, for a starting job at outside cornerback. He came out of college as a man coverage specialist, and an injury was the biggest reason he fell from the first round to the third. He returned late in his rookie season without enough time to get ready, so the rust was understandable. A full, healthy offseason was supposed to unlock the player many expected him to be.

He even had a strong training camp, to the point that a starting role seemed within reach. We’ve seen the opposite.

Revel has put together some good moments on film, especially in man coverage. But he’s been inconsistent, and he often struggles with eye discipline and making a play on the ball. Quarterbacks have clearly gone after him whenever he’s on the field. All of which culminated on the Cowboys deciding to sit him versus Arizona. 

The healthy scratch was telling

You can interpret Sunday’s decision in several ways. But Ameer Speed was active over Revel Jr. in a game when the Cowboys knew starter Joey Porter Jr. was banged up with an ankle injury. That pretty much confirms this wasn’t only a special teams call, which is what many people assumed at first.

Why? Because Alijah Clark, Markquese Bell, and Juanyeh Thomas were all active at safety. You could look at that and conclude Dallas wanted special teams help, and Speed has been heavily involved there as well. However, the Cowboys knew there was a good chance they’d need a backup cornerback because of Porter’s ankle. Leaving Revel inactive said plenty.

The snap counts tell the same story. Revel sits at 29% of the defensive snaps for the season, down from a peak of 67% in Week 3. In his last three active games, he went from 40% against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 23% against the Green Bay Packers to 12% against the Philadelphia Eagles. Then came the healthy scratch in Week 8.

If the Cowboys keep him inactive when they host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, that will feel like confirmation they’ve turned the page. 

What could Dallas get in return?

I fired up the A to Z Sports trade simulator, and Revel lands in the range of a fourth to fifth-round pick. Using the Cincinnati Bengals as an example, a deal sending their 2027 fourth-rounder to Dallas for Revel leans in the Cowboys’ favor by 30 points, which is less than a seventh-round pick. That is to say, it’s close to even.

At most, you’re looking at an early Day 3 pick, somewhere in the fourth- or fifth-round range. Most of that value comes from Revel being under contract for two more seasons, the same reason the Cowboys had to give up a fourth for Mingo in 2024.

Here’s the thing, though. These are the same teams that let Revel slide to the third round in 2025, so the offers aren’t guaranteed.

Tight end Luke Schoonmaker and other struggling players come up often in these conversations, but I don’t see them carrying much value. Revel’s upside might be enough to entice someone. Given how the Cowboys’ defense has performed, I wouldn’t be surprised if teams chalk up his struggles to coaching and development and decide to give him a fresh start.

Either way, I’ll be watching the inactives closely on Sunday.