© Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones' NFL Draft Press Conference Was Littered With Memorable Quotes
Jones met with reporters ahead of the NFL draft after a controversial offseason for Dallas.
On Tuesday, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones met with the media ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. Dallas has the 24th pick and from all indications will lean heavily into this draft as a way to restock the talent on the roster.
The Cowboys caught more than their fair share of criticism over the last few months for standing pat as former cornerstones like Tyron Smith and Tony Pollard signed elsewhere. Matters were not helped by the team's apparent inactivity in signing extensions. Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are both eligible yet there hasn't been a whisper of a rumor suggesting Dallas is engaging in long-term talks.
In other words, Cowboys fans feel like their team has stood still while the NFL world moved on without them. This would be cause for discontent in any season but especially coming after the franchise got waxed by the Green Bay Packers at home in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. Jones, responsible for all the decision-making, is very aware of the noise surrounding his team and attempted to defend his strategy days before the draft.
He did so in a series of classic Jerry Jones quotes— equal parts baffling and frustrating for fans of his organization. When asked about the lack of movement on the contract extension front, Jones said he has been playing option quarterback (?) for many years and more "leaves" needed to fall.
The best guess at a Jerry interpretation here is that the Cowboys want to see what happens with other extension-eligible players in order to get a handle on how much their own are worth. Those are the leaves. And Jones has been playing the role of an "option quarterback" for many years in the sense that, at a given moment, he'll have two or three possibilties at hand and he has to choose the right one in an instant. Again, best guess.
Jones also admitted the team surrounding Dak Prescott would have to get weaker because the franchise has been operating using a "credit card" in regards to the cap.
The best pulls from this press conference came when discussion moved to why they gathered today: the draft. Jones said the Cowboys were "all-in" on the draft, continuing an offseason theme of constantly declaring Dallas all-in. What does that actually mean in reference to the NFL draft? Well... we couldn't say.
At one point Jones was asked if the Cowboys would consider trading down. Sitting in the mid-20s there is no obvious deal for Dallas to consider but a lot of craziness can happen on draft night. Jones said he'd be open to the idea but emphasized no team should be trading down when a Micah Parsons-type talent was on the board.
The problem? The Cowboys traded down with literally Micah Parsons on the board in 2021. They moved from the 10th pick to the 12th, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to move up and grab DeVonta Smith.
The longtime Cowboys owner has always enjoyed serving up some absurd quotes and Tuesday was no different. It will be fascinating to see how the team goes "all-in" for the draft and how their moves will be received after a controversial offseason.
No matter what, we know Jones will have something to say.
