Jerry Jones' comments suggest Cowboys doomed to repeat history

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Jerry Jones' free-agency comments suggest Cowboys doomed to repeat history

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Mar 5, 2025 7:05 PM ET

The Dallas Cowboys can't seem to learn from their past mistakes in free agency.

In 2024, Dallas ranked last in the league in free-agency spending ($18.85M), via Spotrac. Not filling their roster holes proved to be foolish for the Cowboys. They went 7-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

For some reason, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones seems to think using a similar strategy will work out this time.

"I don't think aggressive is the right word," Jones said Wednesday when asked if the team would be aggressive in free agency, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. "I'm not looking at free agency as the place to fill voids."

Machota added that the owner said the Cowboys "can fill most of their voids in the draft."

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones when asked about the team looking to be more aggressive in free agency: “I don’t think aggressive is the right word. … I’m not looking at free agency as a place to fill voids.” Jones thinks they can fill most of their voids in the draft
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) March 5, 2025

The NFL Draft is a good place for a team to rebuild, but it can be a crapshoot. And even if Dallas nails all its picks, it still may be unable to fix all its problems. In 2024, the Cowboys finished 21st in the league in points scored (20.6) and second to last in points allowed (27.5).

Jones may want to save cap space for an extension for edge-rusher Micah Parsons. The two-time first-team All-Pro is set to play on the fifth-year option ($24.007M) in 2025 but has said he wants a new deal. Per Spotrac, the 25-year-old's market value is a four-year deal worth $32.4M annually.

However, extending Parsons would save the Cowboys $18.269M in cap room, via Over the Cap.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb have also restructured their contracts, giving the club even more financial freedom. Spotrac estimates Dallas now has $56.279M in cap space, the eighth most in the league.

It seems Jones and Co. are in prime position to spend when free agency starts on March 12 at 4 p.m. ET. If they don't, they may regret it.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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