Cole Beasley believes that the Dallas Cowboys front office influences which receivers get the most targets. Stephen Jones, the Cowboys executive vice president, says otherwise.
Speaking on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Wednesday, Jones strongly refuted the claims of Beasley.
“I would hope that’s just his frustration but certainly not at all the case,” Jones said, as transcribed by Kevin Patra of NFL.com. “We don’t get involved in that. The only thing we ever do is decide if we’re going to pay players a lot of money. Or if we’re going to trade for players and give up big picks. We certainly hope that they would be involved if we’re going to do things like that; that there’s a reason that we’re doing it they’re going to be involved.
Jones added that “of all people, Cole is always involved in getting balls and getting catches. He’s been just an integral part of what we’re about. Certainly, he’s made a lot of big catches and key catches in games that we’ve won.”
Jones is right about that. What was interesting about Beasley’s original comments was that they came directly on the heels of one of his best career seasons. The 2018 season was second only to 2016 for Beasley in terms of receptions, targets and receiving yards.
For his part, Beasley also attempted to clarify his original comments on Wednesday.
Some are misunderstanding my point. EVERY team’s gameplan in pro sports is dictated by the front office. Big free agent additions, high draft picks, etc are going to get the most opps. And I’m not mad at that! Lol I just want to help my team win. All good players want the rock.
— Cole Beasley (@Bease11) January 23, 2019
That makes a little more sense. Though one of the most common anecdotes in the NFL is that once camp (and certainly the games) begin, teams see the NFL as a complete meritocracy.
An undrafted rookie will get more attention than a first round draft pick at the same position if he’s playing better. We hear that (or some variation of it) essentially every year on “Hard Knocks.” Beasley’s clarification kind of flies in the face of that notion.
At any rate, it does seem as though there’s a disconnect between Beasley and the front office. Jones pretty clearly didn’t like what he heard. If the rift isn’t solved before free agency begins, it seems likely that he’s played his last game with the team.