John Fitzgerald, the starting center for the Dallas Cowboys for most of the 1970s, has died. He was 77.
A fourth-round pick in 1970 from Boston College, Fitzgerald played 11 years for the Cowboys. He became the starting center in 1973. Fitzgerald held that position through the 1980 season. He was on injured reserve in 1981, his final year in football.
Fitzgerald’s job became more complicated, and at the time unique, in 1975. That’s when legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry brought back the shotgun formation to the NFL.
Starting that year, the Cowboys made it to the Super Bowl three times in four seasons.
Fitzgerald played in 137 regular-season games, with 109 starts. He also appeared in 19 postseason games, with 13 starts.
We extend our condolences to Fitzgerald’s family, friends, and teammates.
The Cowboys’ contract impasse with edge rusher Micah Parsons last year ended with a trade that sent Parsons to Green Bay and some might wonder if the same thing will happen with wide receiver George Pickens this year.
Pickens received the franchise tag from the team ahead of free agency, but he has not signed the tag and there have not been any signs that the two sides are close to an agreement on a long-term contract. If that remains the case, Pickens could take a page from the book Parsons and many others have followed by staying away from the team over the coming months.
That may happen, but it doesn’t sound like he’ll be joining any other team’s offseason program. Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday that the Cowboys have not received any trade inquires about the wideout from other clubs.
The deadline for tagged players to sign a long-term deal isn’t until mid-July and Parsons wasn’t traded until just before the season, so there’s plenty of time for things to play out for Pickens and the Cowboys before we’ll know exactly what the outlook will be for the 2026 season.
Cowboys safety Markquese Bell was arrested on drug charges Friday in the Dallas suburb of Prosper, Texas.
Collin County, Texas, records show that Bell was arrested on a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanor count of possession of marijuana.
No details have been released about the circumstances surrounding the arrest.
Bell signed with the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2022 after a college career that saw him arrive at Maryland as a highly sought-after recruit, only to get suspended from the team and leave the school before ever playing a game. He then transferred to Coffeyville Community College and transferred again to Florida A&M.
Last year Bell played all 17 games for the Cowboys and was on the field for 32 percent of their defensive snaps and 63 percent of their special teams snaps.
The NFL and the NFL Referees Association have resumed their efforts to get a deal done. And the NFL, as expected, showed up with the big guns.
Via Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the attendees at Thursday’s bargaining session included Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Kevin Seifert of ESPN reports that Thursday’s “meeting was productive and there is an expectation for continued discussions.”
While the current labor deal between the NFL and the NFLRA runs through May 31, the league has made noise about wanting to get a deal done by May 1, given that it plans to commence hiring replacement officials at that point.
The overriding question is the real deadline, and whether both sides agree on it. That’s the key. Setting a deadline and agreeing to it. Until that happens, both sides will be leery about moving toward their bottom-line positions.
So is it May 1? Is it May 31? Is it Week 1? The answer to that question will go a long way toward letting everyone know when nut-cutting time arrives.
The Cowboys have called Arlington home since 2009. They will call it home until at least 2055.
The Cowboys and the city of Arlington are finalizing a lease extension at AT&T Stadium, Mayor Jim Ross told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
The original lease was set to expire in 2039, but will be extended by 16 years.
“A huge project that will hit the agenda next week is we’re extending the Cowboys’ lease here in Arlington to 2055,” Ross told the newspaper. “That is a phenomenal deal, because that means the small business around the entertainment district, and everybody else, has now 30 more years of having the Cowboys here in Tarrant County and the Cowboys here in Arlington. We are super stoked about what’s going on, and we have tremendous momentum.”
Despite its age, AT&T Stadium remains one of the marquee venues in the NFL.
It hosted a Super Bowl in 2011, NBA All-Star Weekend in 2010, the NCAA Men’s Final Four in 2014, a College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015 and became the new permanent home of the Cotton Bowl in 2010.
The Cowboys committed $295 million to renovate the stadium in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup.
The stadium will host nine matches this summer, the most of any venue in the tournament.
