Jerry

Jones

Adding to that idea is a quote from Stephen Jones today where he says they will struggle to get to 15-22 first-round grades in this class. The Cowboys, who pick at 12 and 20, could certainly try to move up to ensure they get one of the real defensive difference-makers in the class as they try to generate more momentum for a turnaround on that side of the ball.

“I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have,” Jones said. It’s hard to tell if this is bluster because almost all of Jones’ public statements contain some level of bluster at this point, but it would make sense for this to be a splurge year for the Cowboys off a disappointing 7-9-1 season and with a defense that badly needs an influx of talent.

This could be a big nothing burger, but Jones said the team is “open-minded” to the idea of trading a pick. The Cowboys currently hold the No. 12 and No. 20 overall picks in this year’s draft, but have plenty of needs to address with those picks, especially on the defensive side of the ball. As is often the case in these situations, anything can be had for the right price. We’ll see if anything piques the Cowboys’ interest as offers are likely to come in their direction in the coming weeks.

If only the Cowboys had a superstar EDGE defender to bolster their basement-dweller defense. Jerry Jones is looking for the guy who did this. The Cowboys currently rank 30th in both points allowed and EPA per play allowed. They are beatable on the ground and through the air, forcing them to enter every game with a shootout mentality. Dallas has scraped together a 3-3-1 record, but they won’t be true Super Bowl contenders until their defense turns things around. As Rapoport notes, the impending return of DeMarvion Overshown and Shavon Revel could dissuade the Cowboys from buying at the deadline.

Jones’ statement effectively validates the timeline of events that Parsons outlined in a social media post. Parsons’ agent was not present for the private discussion in which Jones says the contract was negotiated, and Jones takes issue with the agent’s attempts to “improve off the mark that we’d already set.” These are bizarre circumstances. Agents are hired to represent players in contract negotiations. Jones seemingly disagrees with that practice in this specific instance. The two sides need to resolve this issue soon, ostensibly with Parsons’ agent involved. For his part, Parsons seems ready to dig in, scrubbing mentions of the Cowboys from his social media profiles and adding a Bible verse: “Even if I fall, I will rise; the Lord is my light.” Best of luck, Jerry.

Jones characterized his January discussions with Sanders — who played for Dallas from 1995 to 1999 — as a mere chat between old friends. “Just a conversation about the team, and about where he is, and his boys, conversation with his boys, that type of conversation,” Jones said. “I’ve said I’ve talked to a lot of coaches, and Deion has a job.” Jones would have had to buy out the remaining years on Sanders’ contract with the University of Colorado and make him a highly-paid NFL head coach if he were to have pursued Sanders after Mike McCarthy’s departure. The Cowboys settled on Brian Schottenheimer as their new head coach — his first head coaching gig after 14 years of serving as offensive coordinator for four teams.

The Cowboys are 4-2 on the season and boast an offense and defense that both rank in the top five in the league. Outside of Tony Pollard and CeeDee Lamb, one could argue the Cowboys are relatively thin as far as offensive playmakers are concerned. Despite this, Jones and the front office don’t appear to be anticipating many moves at the deadline. We have until next Tuesday to see if anything gets done, but Jones holding court to say he doesn’t expect much to get done feels pretty definite at this point.

Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989 for $150 million, estimated he could get more than $10 billion for the franchise today -- a little north of outside estimates that land in the $8.5 billion range. “But let me make this very clear,” Jones told NBC Sports’ Peter King. “I’ll say it definitively. I will never do it. I will never sell the Cowboys. Ever.” Eighty years old in October, Jones today is as involved in the team’s day-to-day management as he was in their early-90s glory years. Jones seems intent on spending the rest of his days chasing those Jimmy Johnson Super Bowl years with dramatic coaching and personnel moves. Expect the Jones family to own the Cowboys until the sun swallows the earth.

Team owner Jerry Jones said the team settled with the cheerleaders out of court to show “how seriously we took these allegations and we wanted them to know that we were real serious and so the settlement was the way to go.” Settling out of court, of course, is no one’s idea of showing how seriously an organization takes allegations of misconduct. Dalrymple recently retired after 32 years with the Cowboys, who curiously did not announce his retirement. He denied the cheerleaders’ accusations and said the matter had been handled internally years ago.

Dallas will become the first team to be featured for the third time on “Hard Knocks”, last appearing under Wade Phillips ahead of the 2008 season. Dak Prescott, recovering from a dislocated right ankle and compound fracture suffered in Week 5, will likely be the main attraction after the team went 6-10 in coach Mike McCarthy’s first year. The first episode is scheduled to air Tuesday, August 10 at 10 pm ET.