Darren Woodson Weighs In: What Cowboys Should Do With Byron Jones

FRISCO - Darren Woodson is in many ways cut from the same cloth as Byron Jones. Top-class athletes. Top-class people. Woodson, the Hall-of-Fame-caliber former Dallas Cowboys defensive back, just happens to think the world of Jones, the present-day Dallas DB about to hit free agency.

But ... when it comes to Woody's view on how today's Cowboys should spend their cap dollars, there's a "but.''

"That's a tough one,'' Woodson tells "G-Bag Nation'' on 105.3 The Fan, when asked about Dallas' apparent decision to let Jones go via free agency, "because I love Byron. I love who the man is off the field and I think he's a very good football player.''

And then comes the "but.''

"I think the question though is this: If it's $15 to $16 million, then you want that guy to turn over the ball. He's gotta make plays on the football. ... But can he turn the ball over? The last four years we haven't seen him make plays on the ball. I think he has the capabilities, the athleticism to do so, he just hasn't done it.''

It is, quite obviously, the opinion of the Cowboys that Byron Jones is not going to do that going forward. Other potential bidders - seemingly most of the NFL teams with cap space, literally, apparently think otherwise, as Jones is being "targeted'' by many of them. Indeed, now we're hearing talk of Byron exceeding that $15 mil mark and getting to $17 mil or $18 mil, to a point where he'll be the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history.

Woodson praises Jones in many ways in this conversation, including saying, "If you're going to actually make that commitment to Byron ... you're not going to have a problem with Byron Jones, he's always going to be available.''

But in the end, Woodson's view seems to mirror that of the Cowboys.

"I don't know if there's enough (cap) space out there with Dak (Prescott) having to be signed, Amari (Cooper) having to be signed,'' he said. "They've already paid DeMarcus Lawrence and Ezekiel (Elliott). I don't know if there's enough money there to pay Byron Jones."

As always, there can be "enough money'' to pay an elite player. What the Cowboys are opting to do here is offer Byron something shy of top dollar because they view him as something shy of "elite.'' And as much as Darren Woodson loves Byron Jones, Woody obviously sees the Cowboys' point.