For all of the flak the Dallas Cowboys get for their lack of involvement in free agency, they are no stranger to wheeling and dealing. This team has made myriad trades in the Jerry Jones era, but you’re not here for a history lesson.

Just this offseason, Dallas has traded for two former first-round picks in cornerback Kaiir Elam and linebacker Kenneth Murray Jr. Neither player has lived up to their first-round billing, but the Cowboys are hopeful a change of scenery will reinvigorate them.

It is more likely than not that those trades morph into home runs, but there’s nothing wrong with making a cheap, low-risk move at positions of need. While head-scratching pickups, there is already a low bar for Elam and Murray.

When you think about the worst Cowboys trades in recent memory, shipping Amari Cooper to Cleveland is the consensus pick.

However, there is a forgotten deal that, while inconsequential, is not talked about nearly enough around these parts. And the player in question still uses the deal as motivation.

Colts cornerback Charvarius Ward rips the Cowboys for trading him as a rookie

Does the name Charvarius Ward ring a bell? Ward, who just inked a three-year, $54 million contract with the Colts as a free agent, has been consistently really good in his career. That culminated in second-team All-Pro and Pro Bowl selections in 2023.

Ward made a name for himself with the Chiefs and later the 49ers, but folks forget his career started with the Cowboys. Unaware that they struck gold in Ward, Dallas regrettably traded the now-28-year-old to the Chiefs during training camp.

It would appear Ward still takes the trade personally and he took it upon himself to rip Dallas’ decision-making during a recent appearance on the Colts’ team podcast.

“You don’t have many opportunities as an undrafted free agent,” Ward said. “Even going back to the Cowboys, I signed with them as an undrafted free agent in training camp. In OTAs, I was strapping them boys … I thought I was going to make the team in Dallas, but Dallas don’t make a lot of good decisions, so they ended up trading me to Kansas City.”

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You might be wondering why Ward is still talking about Dallas seven years later after all the success he’s had in the league. As a former undrafted free agent, though, he’ll never forget his path to success. Even if the Cowboys drafted and then traded him, he’d still use the trade as motivation. That is how professional athletes are wired.

Ward has carved out a really nice career for himself. He has every right to call out the Cowboys for fumbling a gem.

While the trade has aged horribly, Dallas was stacked at cornerback at the time. They had an established stud in Bryon Jones and a trio of promising youngsters in Anthony Brown, Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis. However, they did not re-sign Jones after the 2019 season.

By that time, Ward was a 16-game starter for the Chiefs. He finished with 10 passes defended and two interceptions in his first year as a starter in 2019. It’s not outlandish to think Ward could have stepped into the CB1 role in Dallas after Jones’ departure.

Talk about a brutal evaluation of your own talent.