The Dallas Cowboys, submerged in a 3-6 season, made just one move ahead of the NFL’s trade deadline this season, landing wide receiver Jonathan Mingo and a seventh-round pick from the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2025 fourth-rounder.

On Thursday, head coach Mike McCarthy confirmed that Mingo would make his debut for the Cowboys on Monday night against the Houston Texans:

Mingo, 23, has registered just 55 catches for 539 yards and no touchdowns across 24 games in his first two seasons. That made it something of a surprise that the Cowboys would give up a fourth-rounder for a player who the rebuilding Panthers were willing to give up on so quickly, especially given the other veteran wideouts who were moved ahead of the deadline.

The Kansas City Chiefs landed DeAndre Hopkins for a conditional fifth-round pick that could become a fourth-rounder if the Chiefs reach the Super Bowl and Hopkins plays in 60 percent of the team’s snaps.

The Buffalo Bills traded a 2025 third-round pick and 2026 seventh-rounder to the Cleveland Browns for Amari Cooper and a sixth-round selection.

The New York Jets acquired Davante Adams for a conditional third-round pick that becomes a second-rounder if Adams either is a first- or second-team All-Pro this season, or if he is on the active roster for the team in either the AFC Championship Game or Super Bowl.

The Baltimore Ravens landed Diontae Johnson and a sixth-round pick from the Carolina Panthers for a fifth-rounder. The Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Mike Williams from the Jets for a fifth-round selection.

The Cowboys reportedly had a second-round grade on Mingo ahead of the 2023 draft, which internally justified the high price they paid for him.

“You got to trust the draft process because you put so much into it, that grade always carries weight when he does go somewhere else and becomes available,” Mike McCarthy told reporters after the deal. “We definitely liked [Mingo] in the draft process, and he has a lot of the characteristics that you look for. … We’re excited for the opportunity to have him part of it.”

The Mingo deal is unlikely to save the team’s season, with Dak Prescott out for the year. Cooper Rush struggled in his first start of the season during last week’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, with the inexperienced and erratic Trey Lance the other option on the depth chart.

At this point, the Cowboys would need to be nearly perfect the rest of the way to make the playoffs. That feels unlikely, but fans will at least have the excitement of seeing if Mingo can potentially address the team’s need for a second reliable option at wideout behind star CeeDee Lamb.