
Cowboys news: Jerry Jones doesn’t think 2024 will be Dak Prescott’s final year with team ‘at all’
Jerry Jones doesn’t think 2024 will be Dak Prescott’s final year with Cowboys ‘at all’ – Jon Machota & Larry Holder, The Athletic
In the press conference to kick of the Cowboys training camp, Jerry Jones gave his thoughts on Dak Prescott’s future in Dallas.
When asked by The Athletic given how long Jones and Prescott have been together in Dallas, had Jones considered that this could be the last season they’re together. Jones spoke adamantly that he doesn’t think this will be the case.
“I don’t think so,” Jones said. “Just to be very specific. I do not think this will be his last year with the Cowboys, at all. Am I being psychotic relative to my mirror? No, no.
“It’s pretty clear, I think. I want to say if it hasn’t been clear — of how much we appreciate what Dak Prescott has meant to this team in a positive way. The players do play better when he’s out there. He does make his teammates play at a higher level there’s no question about it. So I’m right there in line with his best fan.”
There’s a roadblock to Jones’ thoughts, though, as Prescott is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2024 season. So it’s not solely up to Jones with no franchise tag available to use on Prescott given the parameters of the quarterback’s current contract.
Dak Prescott Addresses His Cowboys Future With Honest Quote – Madison Williams, Sports Illustrated
While Dak Prescott wants to stay in Dallas, he understands that there is a possibility that he could play for another team at some point.
Prescott has stayed pretty quiet when it comes to the contract talks, except on Thursday when he opened up briefly about the business of football. He paused before stating a rather telling quote.
“I want to be here, but when you look up—all the great quarterbacks I watched played for other teams,” Prescott said. “That’s not something to fear. It may be a reality for me one day. It may not be my decision. That’s the freedom that I have.”
If a contract isn’t agreed upon, it’s likely the 2024 season could be Prescott’s last in Dallas. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones stated on Thursday that he doesn’t believe this is Prescott’s last season with the team “at all.”
Jerry still confident: ‘We have an outstanding team’ – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
Even though the Cowboys have not made a lot of splashy moves in free agency, Jerry Jones believes that this is a very talented team.
While he understands the criticism that comes from the fans and media about the team’s lack of overall success in the playoffs, particularly last year’s deflating loss to the Packers, Jones took a more positive approach when asked why fans should have hope for the 2024 team.
“What do we have 14 Pro Bowlers,” Jones rhetorically asked his PR director next to him. “And 12 All-Pros. We have an outstanding team.”
The count is every player on the current roster who have made a Pro Bowl or All-Pro, including guys such as Ezekiel Elliott and Eric Kendricks, who both haven’t earned those accolades since 2019. But for the most part, the rest of the list is made up of players who have accomplished those feats in the last two years. Last season, the Cowboys ended up with 10 Pro Bowl players.
Either way, the makeup of the roster is something that ultimately excites Jones, who said he is much more focused on getting his team better for the end of the season, than how it might look right now with players such as CeeDee Lamb not even in camp because of a contract holdout.
“I’m more about winning the award for best way to win the season than winning the award for showing up at camp with my house in order. I’m worried about ending the season than I am a fast start,” Jones said. “I’m all in to having that game come out different than the last one we played. What I will say, when I look at our roster an look at where we are and look at the quality of our coaches, I will say that I like as much or better than any time, how we’re going to be hanging around the rim. So when we get to that game, we can come out with a different result. I think we’re very positioned.”
Make no mistake, Jones was not saying that making the playoffs is a foregone conclusion. He said he understands the difficulty of getting the team among one of the best. But based off the players and coaches, Jones reiterated his belief on the team being good enough to get there, and hopefully taking the next step.
Trevon Diggs begins training camp on PUP list – Nick Harris, DallasCowboys.com
Trevon Diggs is the only player to be placed on the PUP list at the start of camp. Players like DeMarvion Overshown, John Stephens Jr., Mazi Smith, and more are all good to go.
Diggs is the only player to start camp on the list, meaning other injured players from last season including linebacker DeMarvion Overshown (torn ACL), tight end John Stephens Jr. (torn ACL) and wide receiver David Durden (torn ACL) are all cleared after taking their physicals on Wednesday.
Other players that worked through offseason injuries who are also cleared include defensive tackle Mazi Smith (shoulder), Luke Schoonmaker (shoulder, hamstring) and Osa Odighizuwa (hamstring).
In Diggs’ absence, look for the depth of the cornerback room to get more opportunities including rookie Caelen Carson, Nahshon Wright and Israel Mukuamu as the room competes for roster spots behind the solidified starters in Diggs, DaRon Bland and Jourdan Lewis.
Why hasn’t Mike McCarthy gotten a contract extension yet? ‘Green Bay,’ Jerry Jones says – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News
Jerry Jones doesn’t view Mike McCarthy’s final year on his contract as a “lame-duck” season.
Jones, speaking to a small group of reporters following the opening news conference of training camp, said McCarthy has the ability to become the coach for years to come. But when it comes to lame-duck status, Jones pushed back.
“I don’t agree with you,” Jones said. “I understand the term and I understand how it fits. I don’t look at it that way. There’s a point in there, I know our fans would like it if everybody were on a low contract, but if they won a Super Bowl, they’d get rid of [everybody]. I’m talking about every coach, every player, I’m talking about everybody. I know that’s the fans’ sentiment. I know that for a fact that you don’t domino if you don’t [win a Super Bowl]. But if you get it, it’s glory hole. Oil and gas term of hitting the big well.”
McCarthy has pushed the Cowboys to 12 wins in each of the past three seasons but the Cowboys have failed to make a deep postseason run.
Jones was asked if he’s so high on McCarthy, why didn’t he get a contract extension after the 2023 season?
“Green Bay,” Jones said. “Mike has shown me that I want to have him and he’s qualified and he’s excellent and the players are excellent and he’s shown me that he could be our coach for years to come. He sits next to me in the draft. I really call on him a lot. If you can’t get along with Mike McCarthy, you can’t get along.”
When Jones talks about Green Bay, he means the Cowboys’ NFC Wild Card loss to the Packers, when the No. 2-seeded Cowboys were upset by the seventh-seeded Packers.
Stephen Jones details Cowboys ‘unique situation’ with contract talks – Nick Eatman, DallasCowboys.com
Stephen Jones discussed how the contract negotiations with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are made more difficult by needing to get them done at the same time, reiterating that “it just takes time”.
Stephen Jones went into detail on the difficulty the Cowboys have this year with having three players wanting a new deal, something that creates a problem that most teams aren’t dealing with at once.
“We have a very unique situation. We have a quarterback who played at the top of his game last year, second in MVP voting, who can leave (at the end of the season),” Stephen said of Dak. “Then we have two players (Lamb, Micah Parsons) who can’t leave here for three years, theoretically. Both of them, rightfully so, believe they should be the highest-paid non-quarterback I the league. I totally respect that. Very difficult situations that we’re trying to work through with them. They want to win. They want to put a ring on their finger. They understand the difficult situation we have with a high-priced quarterback going into his second high-priced contract. We have two other guys we’re trying to work though. It just takes time.”
Jones added that the negotiations are ongoing and he’s hoping they can have some success signing players in camp like they did last year when Trevon Diggs, Terence Steele and Malik Hooker all signed extensions in Oxnard, as did Zack Martin, who ended his holdout after three weeks and eventually signed a new deal.
Brandin Cooks unbothered by CeeDee Lamb’s absence from camp – Tim Weaver, Sports Illustrated
In an interview with the media, Brandon Cooks showed his support for CeeDee Lamb while he is holding out from camp.
Based on what team owner Jerry Jones had to say at his press conference today, it doesn’t sound like a deal is imminent between Lamb and the front office. For now, the top of the wide receiver depth chart is occupied by long-time veteran Brandin Cooks, who doesn’t sound too concerned about Lamb sitting out.
Here’s what he told Jon Machota on the sidelines at today’s practice.
Cowboys WR Brandin Cooks when asked about the importance of training camp for CeeDee Lamb: “He’s the best receiver in the league for a reason. I played with a guy in Aaron Donald, who if I’m not mistaken, didn’t come to camp three years in a row and won Defensive Player of the… pic.twitter.com/5jTlrbnGa0
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 25, 2024
Cooks is a highly underrated receiver in his own right, who has posted at least 550 yards every year he’s been in the NFL, despite never having been the number one option on any team he’s been on. That includes three years with the Saints, three more with the Texans, two years with the Rams, and one each with New England and Dallas.
As impressive as Cooks’ consistency is, he’s not someone you want being the WR2 on your team, to say nothing of being the No. 1 target. Cooks might be one of the NFL’s best WR3 options, but that’s probably about as high as he should go on the depth chart at this stage of his career.