Dallas Cowboys: Stephen Jones is ruthless and the real villain
By Dink Kearney
The Dallas Cowboys did not sign Dak Prescott to a long-term contract because of Stephen Jones’ stubbornness.
As expected with the Dallas Cowboys, they made HEADLINE news when they failed miserably to sign Dak Prescott to a long term contract. For whatever insane reason, the Cowboys couldn’t come to terms with Dak because they were unwilling to discuss a four-year deal.
Fun Fact: Dak is tied with Russell Wilson with the second most wins since he came in the league in 2016 with 40. Dak only trails the G.O.A.T Tom Brady during that span.
Everyone thought the Cowboys and Dak would reach an agreement this summer, especially after Dak signed the franchise tag to the tune of $31.4 million dollars. Once Dak signed the franchise tag, the thinking was that the Cowboys and Dak representatives would reach a long term deal and make him one of the highest paid signal callers in the league. And everyone would be happy.
Not.
Once upon a time, Jerry would have caved in and gave Dak the four-year deal he craved for, but Stephen stood pat and wouldn’t budge from his $110 million guaranteed and $33-$35 million a year offer.
Yep, Stephen stood his ground and decided not to pay his top-10 franchise quarterback his worth. In other words, Stephen is a calculated, ruthless executive that’s going to be the true villain to the Cowboys’ success. Period.
This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction to a deal gone wrong, but its a reality check on how Stephen operates and how he’s willing to roll the dice on one of the best quarterbacks in the league and leave his franchise without a signal caller.
In other words, you either take what Stephen offers you or you can walk, and that goes for Dak as well. And that is a nasty attitude to have because you’re damaging and decreasing the chances for this Dallas franchise to be successful.
Regardless of Stephen saying a highly paid quarterback decreases the chances of a team winning, you pay Dak his money because he plays the most important position in football, let alone all sports. I don’t care if Dak is asking for four years instead of your “mandatory” five years. It’s not Dak’s job to field a successful team on a yearly basis.
You pay Dak to win football games with the team you built around him, not to think about how paying him too much money decreases his chances of this team winning. Stephen you should have thought about that before paying Pro Bowl running back Ezekiel Elliott to a massive $90 million- six year contract extension last season.
Let’s be mindful that Zeke had two years remaining on his contract.
Although Zeke is one of the best running backs in the league, how do you give Zeke his money when he plays one of the most replaceable positions in football? Trust me, Zeke wasn’t going to miss the entire 2019 season, but if he had done exactly that, chances are Dallas still goes 8-8 and misses the playoffs.
However, if your quarterback misses an entire season, then chances are your team will suck and be in prime position to draft a quarterback, that’s if one is good enough to draft. And that’s the scenario that Stephen has created after the 2020 season. Not only will Dak’s franchise tender rise to $37 million dollars, but the price to sign Dak to a long term contract will be astronomical.
What if Dak demands a trade after having another successful season?
And yes, all things point towards Dak having another successful season and career year with the offensive weapons at his disposal-Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Blake Jarwin, Zeke, and Tony Pollard.
Stephen not giving in to a player’s demand is not new. After former Dallas running back DeMarco Murray ran for 1,845 yards, scored 13 touchdowns and lead the league in rushing, Stephen low balled Murray with a sad sack contract of four years, $24 million, but only $12 million fully guaranteed.
Instead, Murray signed a five-year, $42 million contract with more than $20 million guaranteed with Dallas’ rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. Stephen low balled Murray on purpose.
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It’s true Stephen offered Murray a low contract because they fed Murray twice as many carries as he had since he joined the league, but Murray was worth it and still had some gas in the tank at the age of 27. Stephen didn’t think he was worth his asking price and let him walk.
Stephen did the same thing with former Dallas cornerback Byron Jones, who was one of the best corners in the league. Stephen didn’t even sit down with Byron’s representatives because he already knew he wasn’t going to pay Byron what he was worth as a top-tier corner.
C’mon on man, this is the best corner behind All Pro Stephon Gilmore and you don’t re-sign him! And Dallas’ secondary needs to play better but you let Byron walk? But you re-sign Zeke and re-sign Jaylon Smith. But not Byron and Dak.
And I don’t care about Byron’s lack of interceptions because analytics said he’s one of the best and analytics are very accurate.
So now you see why Stephen is a blockage to the Cowboys’ success because if he can’t put his ego to the side and sign the best and most important asset on the team, then Stephen is a villain and the reason why the Cowboys might not ever win another Super Bowl.
- Published on 07/23/2020 at 11:00 AM
- Last updated at 07/23/2020 at 15:40 PM