What did Cowboys owner Jerry Jones unload in interview on Stephen A. Smith podcast?

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones addressed some of the key issues surrounding his franchise this week during a 70-minute interview on “The Stephen A. Smith Show” podcast, at The Star in Frisco.

A few days before the Cowboys open the season at Cleveland, here are a few takeaways from the hour-long Smith podcast:

Jones avoided the question on why he did not attempt to sign free agent running back Derrick Henry. Instead he focused on bringing back Ezekiel Elliott.

“In Zeke (Ezekiel Elliott), we had an opportunity,” Jones said. “I know how badly, he wanted to be back with the Cowboys. I personally thought that his work in New England (in 2023) was better than a lot of other people evaluated it. I thought he did carry the mail during some critical times for them.”

“I believe Zeke gives us more in the short yardage than our fans do,” Jones said.

And despite the criticism of not making many big-name additions to the 2024 team, Jones insists that this year’s team, which opens at Cleveland on Sunday, Jones is comfortable with the roster.

“I feel a lot better than some of the critiques,” Jones said. “I’m a little surprised, to fans, that it isn’t more apparent to fans, that we put an outstanding team together. I think the team is in better shape to roll than it was last year.

The big offseason move came after the end of training camp when the franchise handed wide receiver CeeDee Lamb a four-year, $136 million contract. Smith questioned why it took Jones and the Cowboys so long to get Lamb signed.

“There was never any question on how we (Cowboys) felt about CeeDee Lamb,” Jones said.

“I don’t see any rewards or I don’t see any penalties on a timer,” Jones said. “Does he get on the field and does he get on the field when he ought to be out there? So, I had no urgency at all to getting him to the field.”

Jones said there were multiple reasons that it took the franchise so long to sign Lamb. Chiefly, he Jones was looking at the long-term plan.

“I have to look three years down the road, if you will, sometimes five years down the road,” Jones said. “I have a really good feel, as good as anybody, about what the future is going to be for the teams in the NFL regards to revenue.

“This is a long-range life that you have to deal with ... CeeDee’s contract had everything to do with how important he was to the Dallas Cowboys ... but also had everything to do with how he was going to fit into our picture years down the road.”

And part of the long-term plan includes signing pending free agent Dak Prescott to a new contract. But, it’s a difficult decision.

“Dak is a long-term decision for the Dallas Cowboys,” Jones said. “I think Dak, one of his unique things ... what he is as a person and as a quarterback, will age well as you look at quarterback age and viability ... I think he is the kind of quarterback who gets better and better.

“I think he got better with Mike (McCarthy) as his offensive coordinator. .... He was definitely better last year with room to get better, room to grow.”

“When you look at what he brings to the table,” Jones said, “as opposed to the alternative. The alternative is not a one-year alternative, it’s a several-year alternative. So when you look at the prospects of him knocking on that (Super Bowl) door the next five years, I like those odds.”

“It’s very important that we find a way to reconcile this with Dak,” Jones said.

“We got to ask ourselves ‘Can we have the kind of success that Dak deserves, we deserve, his teammates deserve, our fans deserve, can we do that and get in the range to afford Dak?’ I think we can.”

And those are just a few nuggets from the conversation. The duo also talked about Jones’ legacy, the possibility of Deion Sanders coaching the Cowboys in the future and much more.