Stephen Jones, Cowboys avoiding win-now mentality due to cap space

Some within the Dallas Cowboys’ upper management circle have alluded they won’t be following the Los Angeles Rams with their win-now thought process, stating they’d rather go through the growing pains process and become a champion the old fashioned way, not because they want to, but because their cap space is forcing them to.

“We could do some things that would allow us to keep most of our guys if we wanted to push it all out, but then we’d have a much bigger problem next year and the year after,” Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones said. Without factoring in potentially losing certain players to free agents, trades, retirement, etc., the Cowboys are expected to be over their cap salary by at least $13 million.

For example, Amari Cooper’s contract will carry a $22 million cap hit for the Cowboys in each of the next three seasons. His salary becomes fully guaranteed on March 20, so Dallas may be ready to move on and transition CeeDee Lamb as the new No. 1 pass-catching option in Dallas.

“Well, it’s sometimes not all on the receiver too. It’s scheme. It’s getting the receiver the ball, the touches, the targets that he needs,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. “But if you’re gonna pay somebody a lot of money, you want them to be the best at what they do.”

With Dallas trying to work around quarterback Dak Prescott‘s $160 million contract, sometimes you have to make space to and prioritize quantity over quality.

“That’s the tough part of our business,” Jones said. “As much as we respect these men, they also know that we’ve got to run a business. There’s only so much to go around. And we’ve been saying that since day one. But the right guy has the money right now and that’s No. 4, and from there we’ve got to put the right pieces around him.”

Restructuring Cooper’s contract now makes moving on from him down the road an unfriendly one. Unless Dallas has complete confidence in their remaining pieces on offense will allow Prescott to be at his best, it’s a trigger the Cowboys’ owner and EVP should be hesitant to pull.