IRVING, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys spoke of fiscal responsibility, roster balance and the future in justifying their decision to trade receiver Patrick Crayton.

At what risk?

A team with its sights set on the Super Bowl sent one of its most experienced receivers to San Diego on Friday for a low-round pick in next year's draft. The Cowboys shed $2 million in salary with the move yet compromised their depth at a key position.

"Whenever we make personnel moves, I don't point to any one thing," said Stephen Jones, the team's executive vice president. "I think you have to take everything into consideration. Whether its economics, how the player fits with the team from an offensive standpoint, and in Patrick's particular case, how he fits on special teams.

"It's an overused term, but you take the overall body of work and make decisions based on what we think is best for our team both for this year and long term."

The move can be understood when viewed through a long-term lens. The Cowboys have already invested heavily at wide receiver with Roy Williams and Dez Bryant and will sink even more into the position when it signs Miles Austin to a multi-year deal.

Talk all you want about how this is an uncapped year -- the club's payroll, roughly $146 million, is among the top two or three in the NFL -- the Cowboys can't continue to pour money into one position without a ripple effect that negatively impacts other positions.

The move is harder to understand when you look only at this season. Crayton is a proven commodity. He's earned the trust of quarterback Tony Romo and is better right now than Sam Hurd and Kevin Ogletree, the two players who benefit most from Crayton's departure.

Can the Cowboys absorb the loss of Austin, Williams or Bryant to injury as easily now with Crayton gone? No.

Is $2 million too much to pay for peace of mind when the Cowboys strive to be the first team to play a Super Bowl in its home stadium?

"What you do in one year lives with you for several years," owner Jerry Jones said of managing the salary cap. "We've got players we want to sign. Austin. (Anthony) Spencer. We've got a lot of players coming up.

"Every dollar we have under any anticipated system is going to be highly valued. I like the makeup of our team. I want, for now and next year, to keep this together."

Salary is a big reason why the club traded Crayton to the Chargers for a seventh-round pick in 2011, a pick that could move into the sixth round if he has 40 or more receptions. There were others.

Stephen Jones mentioned special teams. Hurd is a beast on special teams and Ogletree has shown improvement. Crayton was squeezed out of his punt return role by Bryant and rookie Akwasi Owusu-Ansah.

His identity as a slot receiver had been minimized by the club's decision to use Austin more out of the slot.

Every ball caught by Crayton this season would have been one less reception for Austin, Bryant and Williams. This was an issue the Cowboys clearly didn't want to manage.

Stephen Jones acknowledged the trade of Crayton "does clear the way" for Ogletree to do more. He will do it for substantially less at $395,000. Jones and coach Wade Phillips did not discuss Hurd's fate, but it appears he will make the 53-man roster.

Crayton wasn't the only player traded on the eve of the cut to 53. The Cowboys sent offensive tackle Pat McQuistan and his $1.176 million salary to Miami for the potential to exchange sixth-round picks in next year's draft.

McQuistan had no impact on the Cowboys' success in recent years. Crayton did. His departure could leave the team in a bind if it loses one of its top three receivers for any amount of time.

"We thought that out and we feel very comfortable with that situation," Stephen Jones said. "Injuries are a part of the game. You have to have depth, but you have to have depth at other positions as well.

"We feel comfortable with our wide receiver situation right now."

That means the Cowboys must be comfortable with the risk as well.

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