FRISCO — Weeks before he stole the spotlight with the trade of Micah Parsons, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was inspired.
Jones had just walked the fittingly blue carpet at the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood on an August night for the premiere of the Netflix documentary about him: America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys. He talked about the Herschel Walker trade that sparked a dynasty. It would be proven true later with the trade of Parsons, but it looked like Jones had the itch to gamble again.
“It gave us the ability to cut and shoot … it caused you to have a going-to-Las Vegas, throw-the-dice attitude, which you kind of need some of if you’re building a team,” Jones said.
With three weeks until the trade deadline, it sounds like Jones could be inspired again.
Jones, speaking after a news conference for the East-West Shrine Bowl, noted that he had read a column from Tim Cowlishaw in The Dallas Morning News on Tuesday about a similarity between the last two franchise quarterbacks for the Cowboys. Dak Prescott, in his 10th season, is leading an offense that’s been fantastic, while the team’s defense ranks last or nearly last in most team categories. Cowlishaw’s column pointed out how it’s starting to feel like Prescott’s best years are destined to be wasted like those of Tony Romo, who played in the postseason in four years.
“He’s absolutely right,” Jones said of the column. “All of them were at times right around that rim. And one of the things that I probably have sense of just remorse that we didn’t — when those guys were playing quarterback like that — get one, or get a chance to get a Super Bowl.”
Jones made it clear that the remorse isn’t regret.
“It wasn’t a mistake,” he said of how the team handled the years of Romo and now Prescott.
Jones also noted that right now he believes his team — and even though he didn’t say it, specifically his offense — is playing at a level where they’re around the rim again, to use a term of his.
“I think this team has a shot,” he said.
Right now, Jones has a chance to improve those chances. He has a chance to live up to his renewed cut-and-shoot mentality by turning the draft capital acquired from the Parsons trade into more players.
The Cowboys have eight picks after the Parsons trade, including two first-rounders. They could get even more, depending on compensatory picks.
Jones applauded the impact that defensive tackle Kenny Clark has had on the team since he arrived as part of the Parsons trade. He also pointed to the financial flexibility of having Clark with a $2.3 million cap hit on this team’s salary cap.
In what could be an active trade season in the NFL, Jones has the ammunition and flexibility to make an impact trade before the deadline, just as he did in 2018 when he acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Raiders in exchange for a first-round pick.
“If there is a trade that would help the defense, we’re in position to make that trade,” Jones said.
“That doesn’t mean we’re going to make one, but we certainly had in mind, when we started this season, that we were going to have ammo to be more flexible in terms of what we do with the roster as we move along this year and, of course, as we get into the next couple of years.”
Jones’ words indicate a willingness to make a deal that would make the self-described gambler in him smile. There is a caveat to that inclination, however.
The Cowboys could get linebacker Jack Sanborn back this week after he suffered a concussion against the New York Jets in Week 5. DeMarvion Overshown — a spectacular, but limited-by-injuries star in his first three seasons — could have his practice window opened soon. Corners Caelen Carson, Josh Butler and Shavon Revel could return at some point this season. The same goes for defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey.
“We do have some serious help on the way,” Jones said. “And that’s part of the reason I feel as good as I do.”
There’s still time for Jones to change his mind. There’s time for his current confidence to be cemented, as well. Those paths feel passive, however — a quality that a gambler doesn’t normally showcase.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
Source link
