Jerry Jones' Cowboys Contract Update on Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons & CeeDee Lamb
Do "Deadlines Make Deals'' ... Still?
Those three words - uttered to me by the Dallas Cowboys then-new owner Jerry Jones by way of explaining his circa-1990 patience regarding contract negotiations, have obviously served him well.
At the same time, the news from Indianapolis regarding the Cowboys' seeming lack of initiative when it comes to triggering the process of new deals for Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb is a bit jolting to many in Cowboys Nation.
And Jerry, speaking Friday at his annual "on the bus'' session with DFW media at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, just added another jolt.
"We don't need to, but we can if everybody wants to solve it," Jones said of crafting a Dak extension via a meeting with agent Todd France. "You can get in and get on the same page and see if you can come to an agreement.
"If you can't ...
"What we have in place works.''
That is true, because of "The Band-aid Option.''
Ah, but "deadlines'' are coming. And because the "all in'' promise from Jerry was supposed to be in part about assertiveness - or so fans thought - why would the Cowboys front office intentionally be passing on meeting face-to-face in Indy this week with the agents for those three star players who are due new deals?
"Two people familiar with the team’s thinking said it considers those in-person meetings unnecessary to advance contract-related talks,'' The Dallas News wrote in advance of this Jerry session.
That is ... nonsense. If "familiarity'' is the reason for not meeting with the agents for Dak, Micah and Lamb, then why did Dallas meet with the agents for Leighton Vander Esch, Michael Gallup and Tyron Smith? Would the Cowboys really try to argue that they're "unfamiliar'' with those three reps?!
Prescott's contract situation is the headliner here. Prescott is entering the final year of his deal, and that while an extension is the at-least "stated'' goal there, too (with a March 13 deadline of cap-compliance looming while Prescott presently counts an unwieldy $59.4 million against the cap), there are options that could leave him without a deal beyond 2024.
“Our whole thing with Dak is him being a Cowboy,” COO Stephen Jones said Tuesday. “That’s all that’s on our mind.”
That's the right thing to say. But no meetings makes it seem "back-of-mind.''
And why? What happened to the announced plan to be "all in'' as is regards being proactive and aggressive?
(Sidebar: We reported that team officials were to be meeting with some agents in Indianapolis on Friday. And that did indeed happen.)
Said Stephen Jones this week: "Obviously, between Dak and between Micah and CeeDee, the salary cap is real for us with those three guys ... We want to do a deal with all three of them."
That, again, is the right thing to say. But as employees are now going to the local newspaper to accuse the Joneses of creating an environment in which "little sense of commitment is felt anywhere''?
The "all-in'' Cowboys front office's actions speak so loudly we can barely hear what the Joneses are saying.
