Jerry Jones: We're in a Great Position | Dallas Cowboys 2024

David Moore Dallas Morning News with CD being resolved now how would you characterize your negotiations with Dak Prescott heading into the regular season opener uh that hasn't changed so U we're uh continuing to U uh uh first of all all of us focus on what's coming up here in the next 10 days two weeks opening game and U that takes priority over anything uh uh lamb uh wasn't here Dak is here uh so we have uh really uh no more to do in those significant things that we talk about every time we meet uh to have this season uh on go by opening day so it'll remain like it's been Clarence Hill all city doas um talking about what's the name of your outfit huh City Dallas thank you you're kicking it off with some good [Laughter] storiesin can you just talk about the interest in dvin cook I have no answers from [Laughter] you D cook and where you are your running back position well uh dvin U is someone that we all have appreciation for his career and uh uh he gives us a chance to uh get in here and learn the system he's initially on the practice squad gives us a chance to get in here and learn the system uh we had hoped that as time went along in this off season that we'd have an opportunity to uh maybe look at uh a player like of his statue uh if the right circumstances came along they came along we're appreciative of that uh he's in U we had to workout for him he's in good shape uh he'll get a lot more work but he'll learn our system as he goes and uh he could easily really help us out this year he e zek 29 years old how does that mix with what you're trying to do and at their age can they still be strong contributors that adds up to 58 if you want to know seriously uh but U uh really U uh we're in a great position to have flexibility here we got Malik Davis back on the practice squad we now have dvin on the practice squad uh we're all excited about uh uh what Zeke can do for us we uh needed to have Improvement especially in that uh uh Red Zone we needed to have Improvement getting in that end zone with that running game and uh uh this all boolers that up I'm really pleased with where we are right now running back Jerry Toler with the ESPN back on on D for a second is there any indication that if you don't have something done by the opener that talks will discontinue that they'll just focus on the season no not U not any indication of any of that uh uh that's why I said it'll be just like it's been joh show with the athletic you talk about cutting down to that 53 you obviously have done this a lot of times in your career how difficult was this one compared to previous years cutting down to 53 well I they they all are uh uh you can see uh the upside uh after our time with these players just uh currently at training camp uh you can see the upside in uh several of these players if I can talk with them that generically each one of them are great individuals they've given it up a lot they've had really notable careers to have been out with us at training camp to begin with and so it's hard to uh talk about them as a group or this as a function cutting down uh it involves uh some uh great people that I admire a lot and um what I am just compelled to say when I'm talking to them individually or if I'm talking about them as a group I'm talking about the cut down process I'm just compelled to note that over the years so many times I've seen these guys get disappointed about not making the roster and then turn around and uh look at them and they're back with us they're back with us as either practice squad or in some cases really right up there on the roster and in the game so uh uh this is an important time it's an important time for the NFL it's important part of the process uh a part of this allows all teams to benefit from the work of each individual team and the players that don't make those rosters those group of people that were cut are the center cut of the depth that will possibly be called upon for the season and what I'm interested in is how it can help the Dallas Cowboys and U some of these guys that uh we did have uh let let out of here could possibly help us in the future Calvin Watkins dallas2 news how much of a is this a risk of losing Dak if you don't get him done by week one or at some point during the season I I don't U uh have any comment there uh uh I have uh uh from the time that I thought about buying the Cowboys I frankly have never really dwelt on in assessing the risk of what we do around here uh to to to be involved in the NFL to be involved in football it'd be Madness to say well that's risky uh so I've been feeling extreme risk since the day I walk through the doors here and so um uh everything you do almost uh there's risk involved that's the nature of the game sometimes it's worked out really well uh sometimes uh taking those risk will bite you uh I don't believe the man upstairs gives anybody uh a plus or minus on when they're taking risk of how he's going to cut the cards uh but uh I've had good luck taking risk I've had some uh I've had some drawn back a nu a few times so uh uh again I don't want to even uh talk about any of the decisions we make on personnel as assessing risk it's all risky s sad use of the athletic JY um you guys have won 12 games for the last three seasons what gives you confidence that this roster can have a better ending than the last three years well I I would be wrong to say I'm going to go ahead and use confident but uh what I'm really trying to do if anything during this offseason and right now is have better results at the end of the year and into the playoffs and we've had in years past now if you have to assume that you've got to have a team team that's capable of winning 12 games to have better results in the playoffs that's front of mine that's right there that's been right here all the way and um uh consequently uh I uh think that everything that we've done uh gives us a great shot to go farther than Green Bay we got last year Tim khaw Dallas Morning News on the flip side of risk historically do you think there's Val in having players playing for contracts and what that can mean over the course of the well it's easy to say uh when you're when you're talking uh strategy that you put the carrot out there leave the carrot out there uh leave the incentive out there uh it's easy to say that uh uh If U uh somebody has gotten pretty satisfied uh whether it be Financial or whether it's be over a good meal that they may not go as hard as before they were satisfied if you look at it and so uh that's an area that is tricky it's uh easy for me to say uh I I seem to have my better times when uh I'm dealing frankly in bad times which are incentive areas to get out of the ditch so to speak and so it's easy to say well boy when you when you don't know what's coming around in the corner at the end of the week or end the month or end the year then you give it your best I don't want to do that I I don't want to do that it's usually a combination of what's in the best interest of the whole in our case the Dallas Cowboys and what is uh needed to do to make a decision on the length and the incentive uh demand in the contract and so it's somewhere in between you've got to obviously look at the well-being of the team and the uh the goals of the team but uh where I can uh I've always uh in any area uh put uh uh uh my associates my running mate and the case of a player players coaches anytime that I can incen them more I do that I believe in the carrot out in front of you so we've got that I don't want to sound callous though when you say well don't you know that people want to know where they're going to be next year the status of their contract next year I have said this I have never seen ever that I can tangibly touch anybody in coaching not coach one way or the other where they've got a huge contract and a lot of years left on it or whether they in their just one year left or this season I've never seen a discernable uh difference in them trying to win that series or that quarter or that game I've never seen it so I think that's inherent in the comp competitive area that we're in in uh football yeah Jeff Co with Fox for Jerry excuse me Jerry what more do you want to see what more do you need to see from D Prescott to give him a new contract well I uh you could easily say uh if you hadn't seen it by now you haven't seen it and so I'm I'm such a fan of Dax and appreciate all of the great things that uh uh we all know that he's there and I appreciate his work ethic probably more than anything out here and I can't tell you how proud I am that we've got him this year to start this campaign uh so um U needing to see I just gave an explanation of where when you look at a situation you've also got a way okay what are the consequences of the other side of the Coen and so uh Dax situation uh right now for me from my mirror has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys good new scrs nbc5 Jerry um with no quarterbacks on the roster for next year under contract what what's Plan B what what's Plan B you got no quarterbacks under contract for next year so as you talk about this like what's Plan B do you know in this day in time you can have them under contract and they still not come so contracts in the end all of solution and uh some of the best decisions that I've been a part of with the Cowboys have been when we didn't have contracts one way or the other whether the player was on our team or on some other team and so I've quit a long time ago getting been out of shape about having anybody under contract or not and there's all kinds of other things other than a contract that could uh change the outcome of him being under contract injury uh level of play so uh you can't just pick that and say that should give you a better feeling about our team or me a better feeling about it the whole thing has a lot of moving parts now I can live with that and uh do live with it you have to live with it because we play a game that it can change on the next play Nick Nick Harris dallascowboys.com CD said yesterday that you two had to have a businessman conversation to be able to clear the room as the owner in GM what goes into that conversation and do you feel like you have a good relationship moving forward well um I'm going to point specifically to one aspect of the conversation and that is a uh uh just an inherent uh uh wanting to for uh and I think it's natural for all of us uh wanting to say now you're going to be dealing with huge amounts of money be careful be careful uh look under the hood uh give it a lot of consideration as you make decisions regarding uh what you have uh as far as keeping it um you don't have to be smart SM to make money you do not have to be you can be very talented you can be very driven you do not have to be smart to make money but you have to be real smart to keep it very smart any way that I can help a player in any way keep it uh put me in coach D and J the the league voted earlier this week to allow uh private Equity Funds up to 10% in in a franchise is that a revenue stream you uh intend to Avail yourself to going forward well let me say this it is uh uh something I'm well aware of I haven't made uh uh that area uh capitalization or uh the process ects of other ownership relative to the Cowboys uh I personally have not made that uh a high priority for me to attend the meetings uh at all because I don't intend and haven't intended for that to uh apply with Cowboys uh but you're foolish if you don't get up every day and really look at how the tea leaves look on any at any given time I do want to say this never is never never should be never having said that there is no doubt that this is going to make us have a better League uh there's no doubt that it'll give more financial flexibility which in and of itself Since U uh my experience in the NFL when I look back at the financial viability of where we were in 1989 compared to where we we are today and this type of thing that we voted to do yesterday will enhance this game for you as fans and Professionals in the game for the players for the fans and it will create more financial viability and let us uh take advantage of the great following and the great interest that we have in the game and U I don't have specifics but it will and you could clearly see that and it was a a unanimous affirmation there that this was good for fans good for the league let me say this anything that's good for fans is good for the league but you're not looking to do it with the Cowboys at this time uh I just don't uh have I'm not trying to be evasive in any way but yes the correct statement is I'm not looking to do it and I I don't want to foreclose anything as far as the future is concerned but uh uh we we uh have not been in that kind of mind thought m Michelle Monte WFA what difference Did You observe within the team guys uh with CD being back inable please repeat that question I'm having trouble time hearing what what difference Did You observe within the team uh having CD back with the guys well I haven't been with the team since uh I was at that League meeting yesterday uh but um uh I can tell you right now uh you probably read between the tea leaves there's never been any question about how important CD lamb is to the Cowboys and really never question about our commitment to Sig him and uh so having said that uh and we did say that during the course of this negotiation uh these things become uh uh they just have a life of their own uh there's other people involved in the middle and it's important to them to have the exercise it's important to do uh if you can't get used to it my father told me after about a year with the Cowboys he said Jerry I'm 75 and he said you get all of these negotiations with agents you get all of these negotiations done I think before you're 60 said because when you get as old as I am you won't be able to stand it if your secretary is sitting there that you love for 30 years asked for a raise it'll enrage you and he said that goes with age get it done now well Dad I'm proud to say it doesn't enrage me it's just uh what it takes to get to be a part of the NFL M for you guys have been I think pretty prominent um in the role to try to push for legalized sports betting in Texas you see any things that gives you an idea that maybe that'll pass here either next year or in two years uh the things I see are the uh impressive numbers of States uh this as you know the just for everybody the Supreme Court said that this would be a state uh determined operation as to where you're located by state of whether or not you can have sports betting and that's why that you have some states over 30 of them that do it and you have others that don't uh U it is a thing similar to this if you look at the background of them uh uh if if U the mind frame the mind frame of the people is what we're talking about here and I don't want to sound like a poli ition but it is the mindset the mind frame and it has to get an order of priority an order of importance uh for something like this because it must be voted on uh by the citizens of the State of Texas and so you've got to create a a a level of importance and uh that level of importance sometimes takes some years to establish or some other uh visible tangible other other states doing it other for some states to uh make that happen uh that's a long-winded way of saying that I think ultimately you have sports betting in the state of Texas uh until that time this state does uh lose an opportunity for huge amounts of Revenue and U I think that properly properly supervised by the people that play the games and people that have have the teams that play the games and the individual athletes uh you've got to make sure that the perception is and the reality is that there's just no uh compromising on it all being very competitive and up and up and I think that takes some time in some places more than it does others G gar Pell CBS sports Gary CD said when his agent called him and said he had 34 million a year he was like where do I sign how conscious are you in neg NE iations of the top of the market where those numbers come in when you negotiate those contracts well you U I knew where he wasn't coming in at and at this time and that time that was about the only one in the market that I was looking at that market is one thing but it does boil down to ultimately to individually uh feeling like the time is right and uh that that's uh that's how that's how you get there and uh uh you I've got to remind always do remind everybody that this is a zero sum game and that any dollar one player gets it's a dollar another one doesn't get this is a cap on those dollars they're like scholarships and if you could spend five Scholarships in college and you had 60 to give you could spend five to get one and then one on one player then you would run out of scholarships to get the very top one and you'd have lesser players and uh has financially uh it is not in most cases a matter of the money it's a matter of the use of the term money as it relates to the cap and if you can get the most players and the better players out there for the least amount under the cap you're doing your very best job and so that's how it's looked at and so you sit there and you work and you U certainly understand our fans uh uh uh warning CDN a month ago but we're fundamentally trying to save some scholarship here for another player you're good Clarance okay thank you guys one uh Terence is it [Laughter] Terence got what more Zim can you talk about Zim can you talk about Zimmer's role some of the decisions you made I can't be mad at you all right can you talk can you about Zimmer's role in in some of decision you made certainly lvo Joseph some of the guys he had with the Vikings but also uh dvin cook how much did the interest in D could go with Zimmer well I will always if you have confidence and you have had some experience and of course it's not a question of trusting somebody it's just understanding when they say wow as opposed to when someone else says wow they can be two different degrees of that you got to know who's saying it well hello Zimmer we know who's saying it when he uh has a a recommendation so to speak and there's no question these players that you see that have played for him were greatly influenced by the by his a assessment of how they could help us or not all right okay thank you guys