Report: Stephen Jones preventing Jerry Jones from going all-in on free agency

As previously discussed on GH, Stephen explained why the Cowboys went cheap in free agency this year after Jerry said the team planned to go “all-in” in the offseason. Stephen said the team didn’t have the money to sign running back help like Derrick Henry (even though Henry wanted to sign with Dallas) because the team had to worry about extending the contracts of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.

None of those three players has agreed to a new deal. If they had, the Cowboys could have freed up cap space to help the team sign elite players in free agency. Stephen said in March he’s especially afraid of signing players during the “first wave” of free agency because the market is inflated.

Personnel in the Cowboys’ front office are confused by Stephen’s reasoning on free agency. While the Cowboys might overpay on talent, a key addition could be what it takes to win a Super Bowl. After all, in recent years, the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs have made moves in free agency and the trade market to make the Super Bowl.

Jerry Jones is more willing to pay for elite help

A long-time personnel member for the Cowboys told Dunne that Stephen has been cautious of the Cowboys’ spending in free agency ever since Jerry signed Deion Sanders in 1995. In recent years, Stephen often prevents Jerry from making a splash in free agency.

This dichotomy dates all the way back to that Sanders deal in ‘95. Stephen “went absolutely ballistic” on his dad, he says, because son believed this was a terrible contract. Of course, the only way any team gets a talent like Deion back then or, for that matter, a B+ talent today is to spend more. That’s how the free market works in the NFL.

“Jerry is more willing to open up the checkbook and pay,” says this longtime personnel man. “Stephen’s always the one that’s trying to hone him in and prevent him from bankrupting the salary cap. And sometimes, it’s the right thing to do and sometimes it isn’t. There were a couple offseasons where we could have improved ourselves in free agency by being active and we chose not to when we tried to do it through the draft.”

Instead of paying in free agency, the Cowboys rely on building their team through the draft. The team tries to reward homegrown talent. However, as we’ve seen this offseason, the front office waits too long to extend the contracts of its elite homegrown players. They played the same waiting game with Mike McCarthy this offseason, which is causing the head coach to become “fed up” with his situation in Dallas.

Stephen wants the Dallas Cowboys to build via the draft

Because the Cowboys choose not to spend on outside help in the first wave of free agency, the team often reaches in the draft to select players they need for a particular position. A former Cowboys’ personnel person told Dunne that Stephen is behind the strategy, as Jerry is willing to attempt to strike a deal for a player that would make a difference in the playoffs.

“Sometimes we were reaching down in the draft to get an offensive lineman or a certain position,” says a former personnel man. “We’re in the first round reaching into the second round to fill that need when we could be getting a top 15 pick.

This is my opinion: I think it’s more Stephen than Jerry. If you can convince Jerry that this guy you’re going to sign is going to be a difference-maker and help you get it over the top, he’ll get the deal done. He’ll figure out a way to get the deal done. But Stephen’s always sort of pulling that back.

Stephen might have Jerry’s ear, but Jerry has the checkbook. The buck ultimately stops with Jerry. That being said, Cowboys fans might want to direct their ire at the younger Jones this season if the team struggles after Jerry’s “all-in” promise.