'All In'? Cowboys NOT Meeting With Dak, Micah, CeeDee Agents on New Contracts?
FRISCO - We have detailed for years Jerry Jones' "Deadlines Make Deals'' mindset when it comes to Dallas Cowboys contract negotiations, and we recently told the story of how son Stephen, the Cowboys COO, was taught the value of not making that first negotiation phone call.
But that doesn't prevent the news from Indianapolis on the Cowboys' apparent lack of initiative when it comes to triggering the process of new deals for Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb from being a bit jolting.
Why? Because "deadlines'' are coming. And because the "all in'' promise from Jerry was supposed to be in part about assertiveness. And because if the Cowboys front office is truly passing on meeting face-to-face with the agents for those three star players who are due new deals?
The Cowboys front office is breaking with tradition. Sitting on its hands. And waiting for "all in'' to come to them.
Prescott's contract situation is a headliner in this explosive Dallas News report in which it is revealed that the Cowboys' latest hires, including new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, have come to The Star on one-year deals ... and that the setup is resulting in a widespread lame-duck feel that the paper says has created "discomfort and unhappiness within the building. ...
"One person close to the situation said the sentiment extends deeper than the coaches, adding that little sense of commitment is felt anywhere.''
As in ... "extends deeper than the coaches'' ... to the players in the locker room?
It's well-known that 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 at the NFL Scouting Combine. “That’s all that’s on our mind.”
That's the right thing to say. But the News is reporting that "the Cowboys are not scheduled to meet with (Prescott agent Todd) France at the Combine or, for that matter, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and hybrid defensive end Micah Parsons’ representatives.''
And why not? What happened to the announced plan to be "all in'' as is regards being proactive and aggressive?
"Two people familiar with the team’s thinking said it considers those in-person meetings unnecessary to advance contract-related talks,'' The News writes.
(Sidebar: CowboysSI.com has learned that team officials are meeting with some agents in Indianapolis on Friday. We will update as we gather more information.)
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.
