The Dallas Cowboys took a step before the NFL trade deadline and addressed a problem. Unfortunately, it came at a staggering price.

After Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones teased a wide receiver trade, he assured the fan base that Dallas would be buyers, not sellers, at the deadline.

Jerry Jones and company ultimately traded away a fourth-round pick for Carolina Panthers receiver Jonathan Mingo in a head-scratching move.

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Mingo, a former second-round pick, has raw talent, but the compensation Dallas gave up is far too high.

An NFL general manager even discussed the move with the NFL Network’s Jane Slater and essentially said the Cowboys had been wiped out.

“Talented. A bit raw. Comp is too much…way too much. Actually a net 5th. Probably the most similar to Tolbert of the guys there,” the GM said. “It’s just my opinion. Not a bad player, but a fourth place is rich.”

Another NFL talent evaluator told Slater, “That should have been a 6 for 7 pick swap” with a vomiting face emoji.

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This is the story of Jerry Jones and transactions. To explain how bad the deal was on paper, the Cowboys gave up more for Mingo than they received for Amari Cooper. The Kansas City Chiefs acquired DeAndre Hopkins for a fifth-round pick. The Panthers traded their No. 1 receiver, Dionte Johnson, for a fifth-round pick.

Davante Adams was traded to the Jets for a conditional third-round pick.

And then there are the Cowboys. Giving up a fourth-rounder for a guy who has 55 catches on 111 targets for 539 yards and no touchdowns.

At this point, the front office is just trolling Cowboys Nation, right?

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