Stephen Jones’ defense of Cowboys hapless offseason isn’t nearly good enough

It’s been an amazing offseason for everyone who finds joy in the Dallas Cowboys' almost 30-year drought of postseason success. We had Jerry Jones tell us that he was planning on going all-in with his team and then ultimately failing once free agency started.

Now his son and Vice President of the Cowboys, Stephen Jones, is being hung out to dry. He has to answer questions and defend his team because of Jerry’s lack of action, and that's not what anyone wants.

Stephen went on 105.3 The Fan, a Dallas sports radio station, and gave one of the most limp handshakes of a defense for the teams' stagnancy. 

“We spend max, max money year in and year out. All 32 can only spend the same amount of money over a five-year stretch. When we’re all said and done, we max out our salary cap every year…” said Jones, h/t The Spun.

Stephen Jones gives us insight into how the Cowboys' brains work

While that might be correct, it’s not just about the salary cap. It’s about the cash spending and the signing bonuses. Per OverTheCap, the Cowboys have spent the least amount of cash in the entire NFL in 2024 and 2025, and are 29th in spending for 2026. 

Stephen went on to say, “But when you’re wanting to sign players like Dak and Micah and CeeDee, then certainly you have to hold money back if you want to have a realistic chance of signing those guys.”

How’s that working out? Dak’s going to be a free agent next year and CeeDee and Micah aren’t going to OTAs. So… not well.

The issue with the Cowboys is that they’re being worked by the salary cap instead of working with the salary cap.

For example, the Eagles just extended DeVonta Smith through 2028 at $75 million with $51 million guaranteed and a $20 million signing bonus. That means they picked up Smith’s fifth-year option from his rookie contract and the extension kicks in after that. 2024 will be DeVonta’s 4th year in the league. Essentially, the Eagles signed DeVonta for five years. There has been no such talk of anything like that happening for a comparable player in CeeDee Lamb. 

The Cowboys either don’t know they can do these kinds of things or they are unwilling to do them. It’s delicious incompetency or a delightful failure. The world’s most valuable sports franchise won’t spend money.