When it comes to the NFL team that plays its home games in AT&T Stadium, Jerry Jones will do nothing to undermine the aesthetic of sunbeams entering the venue.
When it comes to hosting a World Cup match there, Jones has no qualms about pulling the curtains shut.
Via the Associated Press, AT&T Stadium used black curtains to block the sun during Thursday’s match between Japan and Sweden. It was the first match to involve sunlight entering the glass windows at the western side of the facility.
None of the other matches to be played there are expected to require the curtains. And, once football season rolls around, no curtains will be used for football games.
All because Jones likes how it looks when the sun shines in.
Obviously, it’s how he wanted it. Most stadiums run north and south, so that the players are never looking into the late-afternoon sun. Jones rotated AT&T Stadium by 90 degrees in order to use the sun as an enhancement to the look and feel of games played at that time of day.
Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy made two catches for 8 yards and fumbled in his preseason debut after the team made him a sixth-round pick in 2024. After that, perhaps no one saw Flournoy ending up where he is now.
He earned the Cowboys’ No. 3 job at the position, posting career-highs in receiving yards (407), receptions (35) and touchdowns (four) last season. Last season gave him confidence heading into this season behind CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
“It definitely had a big impact on it, just because I know I belong,” Flournoy said, via Tommy Yarrish of the team website. “I know the offense now. I know how to operate as a professional. Coming in from college, coming in from a small school, you kind of get drowned out. Just trying to navigate what works for you and seeing what works for others, my confidence skyrocketed after I found what worked for me.”
Flournoy, who played at Southeast Missouri State, received extra reps this offseason with Pickens skipping all of the voluntary work and Lamb opting out of some of it. He’s ready for whatever the Cowboys need from him.
I’m just out there playing freely,” Flournoy said. “I know what’s on the play sheet. I know the calls. I know what play to run. For me, I’m not out there thinking. I’m just out there executing.”
The Cowboys will return to Oxnard, California, to open their 67th training camp on July 29th. The 2026 camp will mark the 47th year that the team has trained in Southern California and the 20th season that the club has spent all, or a portion of, its camp at the Oxnard location.
The Cowboys annually have more open practices than any other team.
All open practice sessions are free of charge, beginning with the first workout at 11:45 a.m. PT on Wednesday, July 29 until the final open practice on Tuesday, Aug. 18, which will be a joint practice with the Saints. Public entry will open two hours prior to practice.
Other key dates include Saturday, Aug. 1, which is the opening ceremony for the Cowboys Back Together Saturday. It begins at 11:15 a.m. PT.
The first padded practice is Monday, Aug. 3, and Heroes Appreciation Day is Thursday, Aug. 6.
The Cowboys will also hold a joint practice with the Rams on Tuesday, Aug. 11 in Rams Village in the Warner Center in Woodland Hills.
Following the return to Texas, the Cowboys’ final portion of their training camp will be held at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, with selected practices open to the public.
The Cowboys have more information at www.dallascowboys.com/TrainingCamp.
Then, there was one. . . .
The Falcons reached agreement with tight end Kyle Pitts on a three-year, $54 million deal, leaving Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens as the only player who will play this season on the franchise tag.
Pitts, Pickens and Jets running back Breece Hall were tagged by their team, but Pitts and Hall have agreed to long-term deals. Hall signed a three-year, $43.5 million contract last month.
In addition, Colts quarterback Daniel Jones, who received the transition tag, signed a two-year, $88 million contract in March.
The Cowboys have until July 15 to reach a long-term deal with Pickens, but they already announced the Pro Bowler will play 2026 under the tag. Pickens has signed the $27.3 million tag and participated in the mandatory minicamp last week.
The Falcons have reached an agreement on a new contract with tight end Kyle Pitts.
Pitts is set to sign a three-year, $54 million deal with Atlanta that includes $36 million guaranteed.
Pitts, the No. 4 overall pick of the 2021 draft, was previously set to make just over $15 million on the franchise tender after Atlanta tagged him earlier this offseason.
He will now become one of the highest-paid players at tight end in terms of average annual value, with only George Kittle and Trey McBride eclipsing Pitts’ $18 million per year.
Additionally, George Pickens is now set to be the only franchise-tagged player to play on the franchise tender in 2026.
Pitts, 25, caught 88 passes for 928 yards with five touchdowns in 2025 — his best season since his rookie year back in 2021.
In 78 career games with 72 starts, Pitts has registered 284 catches for 3,579 yards with 15 touchdowns.
The Falcons now can turn their attention to Bijan Robinson for the running back’s second contract, as he became extension eligible following the conclusion of the 2025 season. But Robinson is under contract for two more seasons after the Falcons picked up his fifth-year option in the spring.
