Jerry Jones opens up about Shaquille Leonard, Eagles rematch
The Dallas Cowboys lost the battle with the Philadelphia Eagles over linebacker Shaquille Leonard, but Jerry Jones is hoping to win the war, which will come to a head on Sunday Night Football. The 10-2 Eagles travel to face the 9-3 Cowboys for a rematch of their 28-23 game last month.
On Tuesday, after Leonard signed a one-year deal with Philadelphia instead of Dallas, team owner Jerry Jones opened up about how the negotiations went down. Though money was never an issue, it seems as though the Cowboys were always the second choice.
“We could very easily see him out there against us Sunday,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota. “… Certainly on an individual basis wish him the best. There was absolutely never a dollar, any money, mentioned. There was never a financial issue at all. That wasn’t the case.”
“He wanted to go where he thought he had the best chance,” Jones continued. “It was never an issue for us with the confidence we have in our linebackers.”
The owner’s statements mirror what NFL insiders said on Monday about why Leonard chose the Eagles. He reportedly preferred to land with Philly where he has connections, instead of DFW, but visited both first anyway. Prior to his release from Indianapolis, he recorded 65 tackles with four tackles for loss in his nine-game appearances. The sixth-year player underwent multiple back surgeries in four months in 2022, which made his health a concern for the 2023 season.
After the news broke on Monday of Leonard’s decision, Cowboys safety Juanyeh Thomas posted on social media about the deal, indicating that the team was not surprised. The former Colt reportedly had a huge smile on his face when he landed in Philadelphia for his visit and word got around.
“Really ain’t breaking news…” Thomas shared. “Seen bro have that big ahhhh smile when he got off the plane, knew he made his decision lmao…”
Dallas can ‘absolutely’ beat Philadelphia, says Jones
Now, Dak Prescott’s unit could face Leonard in just six days. He adds another weapon to the Eagles defense but as the 49ers proved in Week 13, they are still fallible. San Francisco beat Philadelphia 42-19, about as handily as they did Dallas in Week 5.
Despite the bit of separation the 49ers seemed to gain on Sunday with their decisive win, Jerry Jones still believes his boys can win out against their NFC rivals.
“Do I think we have a chance to beat either one of those teams? Absolutely I do. Absolutely we can,” Jones said. “I think we have an outstanding chance here Sunday against Philadelphia. I think it won’t be the same game when we play any of these teams a second time. It never is.”