Silent Stephen: What Cowboys Say About Earl Thomas Idea

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys front office has a media-related reputation for accessibility and cooperation that I find to be lovely, because it helps me do my job. But there are also times when the Jones & Company need to clam up - because it helps them do their job.

So it is, as I write this, regarding the sudden availability on the free agent market of seven-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas.

"Just as we didn't talk about Everson (Griffen) until it was done,'' COO Stephen Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Monday, about 24 hours after the Baltimore Ravens parted ways with the oddly-troublesome star, "we found out that works much better for us. It's not very productive for us to talk about anything that might be in the works, because it can always work against you."

The Cowboys did keep their Griffen interest on the down-low. Of course, that's in part because they spent much of the spring not having much interest at all before talking themselves into an acquisition of the former Vikings star defensive lineman that, one week into training camp, looks like a stroke of genius. They also took a spring-time chance on another pass-rusher, Aldon Smith, who has been out of football for a half-decade but so far seems to have not missed a step.

So Stephen Jones, unlike some other organizations that have etched into stone their "no'' decision on Thomas largely based on his two-year track record of erratic behavior, the Cowboys are conducting in-house discussions on the concept. (A concept that here at The Star has been around awhile, as you can see in the above video.)

And while coach Mike McCarthy earlier Monday raved about Dallas' present set-up at safety, Stephen was a bit more revealing.

"It shouldn't be a surprise,'' Jones said of the Cowboys' examination of the idea, "because (the position with) the least amount of resources committed to it is the safety position. We don't really have any high draft picks or any high paid players. Certainly, we got to continue to work in that area and that's what we'll do."

That's not a "yes.'' But it's not a "no.'' It's a quiet way of revealing only a little bit of something.

Said McCarthy: "The most important question you need to ask," McCarthy said, "is, 'How does a player fit into the locker room?'"

Stephen Jones was asked about that same issue.

"Whenever we evaluate a player,'' Jones said, "we look at the full body of work. ... Whether it's medical. Whether it's chemistry and culture on our football team. Off the field, on the field. And then the tape, how has that player played as of late. It all goes into the equation, into the mix into how you ultimately decide do you want to go after that player. If so, what are you willing to do in terms of the resources, the money. How is it going to help us win?"

OK, so that's not exactly "Silent Stephen''; it's a mouthful, in fact. But it's close-to-the-vest enough to leave Dallas appearing non-committal on the idea of Earl Thomas. That is also a reflection of present in-house truth. ... with the "locker-room fit'' issue a large one.