Even in a world of egos, Jerry Jones has one that’s unmatched and it’s already obvious how that will hurt the Cowboys in the 2023 offseason.
Over the last 26 years of heartbreak for Dallas Cowboys fans, the constant factor in every shortcoming, every bad decision, every bang-your-head-against-the-wall moment has been Jerry Jones. His ego to be the owner of America’s Team — and even to brand the franchise as such in the first place — is a problem. And it’s one that isn’t going anywhere.
Yes, Stephen Jones and Will McClay are the primary decision-makers in Dallas when it comes to the things like free agency and the draft. And for their part, they have made some good calls. At the end of the day, though, Jerry Jones still has final say and still has his hand on the pulse of everything that transpires.
After the way last offseason went and this season ended, though, it’s hard to be optimistic about what Jones will do next. In fact, it’s much easier to see the ways in which Jerry Jones’ ego is going to be a problem that ultimately causes the Cowboys problem in the 2023 offseason and moving forward.
Cowboys: 4 ways Jerry Jones’ ego will hurt Dallas in 2023 free agency, draft
4. Jerry Jones will continue to botch the situation with Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott
Some mistakes have longer legs than others and such is the case with Jerry Jones’ love affair with running back Ezekiel Elliott. You could argue that the mistake goes all the way back to the 2016 NFL Draft when Dallas selected the back out of Ohio State at No. 4 overall over Jalen Ramsey. But things have only worsened since.
Despite the elite production and performance of Zeke in his early career, the decline over the past few seasons has been depressing. Yet, Jones already locked the running back up as the highest-paid player at the position in the NFL while maintaining that Elliott is the backbone of the offense. That’s not true. In fact, Elliott hasn’t been the best back on the roster for the past two seasons with the emergence of Tony Pollard.
The rumblings have now started that the Cowboys could cut or trade Elliott this offseason in order to get out from his $16+ million cap hit for the 2023 season. Moreover, Pollard is also a free agent that could have a lucrative market if he gets to that point in free agency.
And therein lies where Jones is surely going to mess this up. Given his affinity for Zeke, it feels all too obvious for him to do something like restructure Elliott’s contract to keep him and let Pollard walk. Or even if he cut Elliott before June 1 and missed out on roughly $7 million more in cap savings than if he waited, that would be bad.
It’s been a series of bad decisions from Jones with Elliott, so it only stands to reason that it won’t stop in the 2023 season when the situation has reached a point of no return.
3. Whether Odell Beckham Jr. signs with the Cowboys or not, Jerry Jones is destined to botch it
Over the second half of the regular season, all of the talk in the world was about Odell Beckham Jr. and where the free agent wide receiver would sign. But it was hard not to have that conversation without the Cowboys being brought up as a suitor — a big reason why being that Jerry Jones couldn’t stop talking about the possibility.
Obviously, that didn’t happen and, as it became clear that OBJ was simply not healthy enough to help a team in the 2022 season, Jones began to walk his comments back. In doing so, the owner sounded more and more scorned by the fact that Beckham wouldn’t be the star signing that he was hoping for.
As we’re in the 2023 offseason, though, Beckham remains a free agent and all signs point to him returning to the field in a meaningful capacity, wherever he signs. It could very well be with the Cowboys, but it feels inevitable that, one way or another, Jones is going to figure out how to botch things with OBJ.
Does that mean he misreads the market for the wide receiver and overpays OBJ to come to Dallas? Does that mean he won’t let go of missing out on Beckham this past season after hoping things would work out and then won’t sign the receiver? Both situations are plausible given what we know of Jones’ ego, and neither is a net positive for the Cowboys this season.
2. Despite the Cowboys need at CB, Jerry Jones will fail to prioritize it
It was truly painful to watch the Cowboys secondary down the stretch last season. Once veteran cornerback Anthony Brown went down with an injury, Dallas rolled out a rotation that included Kelvin Joseph, Nahshon Wright, eventually Xavier Rhodes, and a handful of others. But the corner playing opposite Trevon Diggs was an absolute problem when Brown wasn’t on the field.
Now Brown is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the 2023 offseason and there’s a chance he leaves. But even if Jones and the front office are able to get him to stay in Dallas, the truth of the matter is that depth is a problem. Joseph and Wright were high-upside swings that just haven’t panned out right now and the defense is too good otherwise to let that continue to be the depth.
And yet, it’s hard to look at the situation and then at the history of Jerry Jones and not think that he’s going to steadfastly push for Joseph and Wright to be the guys serving as depth pieces. After all, he had a hand in drafting them.
Despite the fact that something like a Jalen Ramsey trade or reuniting with Byron Jones if he’s cut in Miami could be on the table, it feels painfully obvious what Jones will do for the Cowboys. Namely, he’ll marginally address the position in some manner but fail to recognize the very real need to upgrade the cornerback room as a whole.
1. Jerry Jones won’t allow himself to get the Cowboys a star DT like Da’Ron Payne
In what can only be described as a strange and relatively uneven class of free agents for the 2023 offseason, perhaps one of the most coveted players among the group is Commanders defensive lineman Da’Ron Payne. The Alabama product has been a game-wrecker on the interior in Washington but could now look for and jump at the opportunity to play for a winning team.
Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons has already made it clear on social media that Payne is the exact type of player the Dallas defense could use. He’s right, too. Dallas got solid but sporadic performances from the likes of Osa Odighizuwa, Neville Gallimore and others this season, but no one in their defensive tackle room was a true game-changer in the way that Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence can be on the outside.
There is definitely a factor of money to consider. Dallas is currently over the 2023 salary cap and will have to make room just to get under that number. Thus, they might not have the budget to go after a top-dollar free agent like Payne — though they could also make the room to do that. That’s not where Jones’ ego could cost the Cowboys, though.
Instead, just think about this: Wouldn’t it be completely in character for Jones to simply look at a former Washington player and not even consider making a deal simply because he’s coming from a rival? That might sound outlandish, but Jones can never be counted out with doing something outlandish. And it feels like he’s going to whiff on a prime opportunity to answer a big need for the franchise with someone like Payne.