Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backpedals on 'all-in' claim

Earlier this offseason, Dallas owner Jerry Jones indicated the Cowboys would splurge, claiming they would go "all-in." Now he's changing his tune.

At the annual league meeting in Orlando on Sunday, Jones expanded on the team's offseason philosophy and acknowledged they must do more with less in 2024. 

"I think that we have been in a situation where we can get it done with lesser," he said, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "More doesn't necessarily beat Green Bay. There are other things. Maybe having it better strategically in different spots, but more than necessarily beat them, either. So we're gonna be asked to do some things different because we got some different players."

Making a splash in free agency doesn't always result in a Super Bowl. For example, in 2023, the Denver Broncos spent the most in free agency ($259.48M), per Spotrac, and missed the playoffs for an eighth consecutive year. 

However, the Cowboys were too frugal during the first wave of free agency. They let six starters walk, including former Pro Bowlers running back Tony Pollard (Titans) and offensive tackle Tyron Smith (Jets), and haven't re-signed cornerback Stephon Gilmore. Dallas signed former Pro Bowl linebacker Eric Kendricks to a one-year, $3M deal — its only addition thus far.  

Austin Mock of The Athletic named the Cowboys as one of the five biggest losers in free agency. In his projection model — which measures how players affect a team's point spread in a game — Dallas lost 12.8 points, the fourth-most in the NFL.

Spotrac estimates the Cowboys only have $4.99M in cap room, but they could've saved $35.72M if they extended Pro Bowler wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott, both entering the final year of their contracts.

Along with Prescott, head coach Mike McCarthy has one year left on his deal. Perhaps Jones wants to see if they can carry a team to determine their futures. However, that's a considerable risk and could lead to a regression after the team won 12 or more regular-season games and two NFC East titles over the past three seasons.