Jerry Jones is Optimistic Dallas Cowboys, Doug Free Will Work Things Out
By Josh Sanchez
The Dallas Cowboys have been very straightforward about their desire to have offensive tackle Doug Free take a pay cut and remain with the team, but there is a belief that the two sides will part ways if they cannot renegotiate Free’s current deal.
While it seems that the Cowboys and Free are prepared to split ways if they don’t reach a deal, Dallas owner Jerry Jones seems much more optimistic that things will work out and Free will return to the team for the start of the season.
“I’d like to keep him,” Jones said. “We think that Doug Free can be an important part of the team. He’s been here. We know him. We think that with what we’re doing in other parts of our offense, certainly in the offensive line, that this will bode well for him. So we think he can really be an asset to us.
“It’s no secret that we’re trying to renegotiate the contract, but I think it’s a wrong assessment to say that anybody’s saying ‘take it or leave it’ or we’re at our wit’s end or those kinds of things. That’s just not the way I see it going.”
It is hard to believe that Free could find more money elsewhere on the market, so he will likely cave in and accept the pay cut in order to stay in Big D.