With contract extension negotiations underway with Dak Prescott, Jones has consistently addressed the topic throughout the offseason, believing he is the quarterback the team needs to reach its ultimate goal. I didn't.
“I think there are a few or more quarterbacks who haven't won a Super Bowl who will win a Super Bowl,” Jones said. “I think Dak is one of them. I'm solid there. He's one of the guys who can do that.”
Despite having some promising new faces on both sides heading into 2024 after the departure of six starting pitchers in free agency, Jones still believes Prescott will be at the helm as well. I see that the ceiling is high.
“I think we can get as close as the last three teams with Dak,” Jones said. “That's our point this year.'' There's Duck. We want to get it done. I think we're in a position to accomplish that with less money. ”
Accomplishing more with less may be what the rest of Prescott's career looks like in Dallas. It doesn't matter if that ends up a year from now, when his current contract with the team ends, or whether he has more work to do in the future. Playoff batter. In fact, Jones said he expects Prescott's contract extension to impact the team's salary cap situation five years from now.
Kickback to Tyler Smith?
Now that Tyron Smith is officially out of Dallas and has spent his career guarding Aaron Rodgers of the New York Jets, the Cowboys have an interesting puzzle to solve heading into 2024 to protect Dak Prescott. There is.
One option to replace Smith is literally former right-hander Tyler Smith, who played next to the future Hall of Famer at left guard for most of his first two seasons in the league. The exception was when the younger Smith played left tackle in his rookie season, replacing the older Smith who missed 13 games with an injury. When he came back, he brought in right tackle.
Even though Tyler Smith made All-Pro last year in his second year at left guard, Jones said he “doesn't rule out” the idea of him returning to left tackle permanently.
“Certainly, I would say he's potentially a great player at left tackle,” Jones said of the next cornerstone up front.
Tyron Smith's familiar pain
On the same topic, Jones said Tyron Smith's departure won't be any easier than it was a decade ago when he was forced to watch Hall of Fame defensive end DeMarcus Ware come out of the building and sign with the Denver Broncos. He said there wasn't.
Jones said the salary Smith signed in New York was doable, but Dallas wouldn't have been able to afford it given all the promised incentives considering playing time and team success. he hinted. In 2024.
Jones emphasized earlier in the offseason at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama that running the ball more efficiently and stopping the run will be two big focuses of the offseason.
The latter has made positive moves since the start of free agency with the addition of veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks. He is a surefire run stopper who came to Dallas with eight straight seasons of over 100 tackles.
Jones said he feels the team is already better at linebacker with the addition of Kendricks and the return of Demarvion Overshawn, who was unable to see the field in his rookie season with an ACL injury. .
“Now, can we stop the run better than we've been the last few years? It depends on those kinds of things,” Jones said of how things could change in 2024.
