Cowboys' Jerry Jones defends trading for QB Trey Lance

Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones seemingly responded to those who ripped him for acquiring quarterback Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers for a 2024 fourth-round draft pick late last month. 

"The way we’re structured gets a lot of criticism. Unquestionably, it does," Jones explained during a Tuesday appearance on sports radio station 105.3 The Fan, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "But it lets us do a trade like we did the other day on Lance, because I didn’t have to fool around. I can make that trade in five minutes...I didn’t have to visit with anybody about what type of player he is. So I was able to make the call...I don’t have to talk to anybody about that." 

As shared by Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy did not hide last week that he was "not involved" in "the actual business component of" the trade for Lance. McCarthy added at that time he "was involved in the evaluation" of the 2021 first-round draft choice who had been relegated to third on San Francisco's depth chart shortly before he landed in Dallas. 

Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes and Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta both insisted ahead of the weekend they did not actively pursue Lance in August. Jones has since been accused of overpaying for the 23-year-old but sounds unbothered about such takes. 

"You’re continually prepared to catch an opportunity," Jones added during the radio interview. "If you had to think long or hard or have a committee meeting over something like that, that thing’s gone. You missed it. So many things are like that. So we don’t have that internal three-man, four-man check off through the organization." 

Lance will now spend at least some of the upcoming season learning McCarthy's offense while sitting beneath starter Dak Prescott and primary backup Cooper Rush on Dallas' depth chart. Prescott's future with the organization beyond the 2023 campaign is unclear until further notice, meaning Lance could become an inexpensive lottery ticket for Jones as soon as next summer.