Stephen Jones says Cowboys will be ‘selectively aggressive’ in free agency, sheds father’s frustrating ‘All In’ talk

Stephen Jones seemingly acknowledges his father Jerry Jones' 'all in' method with the Dallas Cowboys did not work out.

Stephen Jones says Cowboys will be ‘selectively aggressive’ in free agency, sheds father’s frustrating ‘All In’ talk

Stephen Jones changes free agency stance after father Jerry Jones' 'All in' failed (Image via Imago)

Last season, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones constantly said he was ‘all in’ on assembling a team capable of pushing for a Super Bowl. He and his son Stephen Jones made just one decent signing at a time when other teams were lapping up players.

That horrendous free agency led many analysts and fans to call out the 82-year-old for not delivering as a GM. However, the billionaire was defiant and constantly echoed on the ‘all in’ line. He believed he had done enough, and it was the team and the head coach’s responsibility to make it work.

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Football fans and analyst saw the Cowboys season unravel just as they expected. They lost to good teams and only won against teams who were worse than them. Time and again the roster’s deficiencies were evident, yet Jerry Jones deflected those criticisms.

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Heading into this offseason, the team is in a make-or-break situation. They have three players on expensive contracts and one to follow soon. With another tough free agency looming, reporters at the NFL combine asked Stephen Jones about their plans.

Obviously, our goals historically have been to try to fill as many of our musts and needs before the draft so you can pick the best player on your board. Didn’t get that totally accomplished last year, but certainly that’s always the goal.

Stephen Jones said

ESPN’s Todd Archer quoted the Executive Vice President of the Dallas Cowboys as referring to a ‘selectively aggressive’ method. That indicates, Jones junior prefers to go back to the way the team used to handle free agency prior to 2024. Almost suggesting that his father’s ‘All in’ method did not work.

Stephen Jones faces Micah Parsons’ contract negotiations dilemma

Over The Cap lists the Dallas Cowboys as having a negative cap number of $1,714,316. They could get some reprieve after All-Pro guard Zack Martin retired. However, Stephen Jones understands it will not be easy trying to extend Micah Parsons.

Dallas Cowboys need to extend Micah Parsons soon
Dallas Cowboys need to extend Micah Parsons soon (Image via Imago)

We’ll just see how Micah’s deal goes. I don’t necessarily know that there’s a lot of extenuating situations out there that would [prevent] us from being able to get our hands around something with Micah, but we’ll see.

Stephen Jones said

The ‘extenuating situations’ he referred to was when CeeDee Lamb sat out of OTAs to push the team to hand him a major extension. After Justin Jefferson landed the highest paid WR contract, it just made it more difficult for the team.

Jones junior pointed out that they were not the only team who saw their situations turn for the worse after JJettas’ new contract. But in Micah Parsons’ situation, the franchise want to extend him as quickly as possible.

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