Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones knows full well that the status quo is not working after his team was blown out by the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Wild Card Playoffs.
It represents the third consecutive season that Dallas had Super Bowl aspirations, only to fall before the NFC Championship Game each time. In fact, the ‘Boys have not made it as far as the conference title since January of 1996.
While there is not going to be a change at quarterback or head coach heading into the 2024 season, Jones made it clear that a roster overhaul can be expected to a point.
“We will be going all in. I would say that you will see us this coming year not build it for the future,” Jones said, via Dallas Cowboys insider Clarence Hill Jr.
At 81 years old, Jones has attempted to create short-term contenders at the cost of long-term financial health. That’s obviously going to be the case during what promises to be an important offseason in Dallas.
Dallas Cowboys going all in for 2024 season
A lot of work will need to be done between now and the start of the new league year if Dallas wants to be viable in both NFL free agency and the trade block. The Cowboys currently find themselves a projected $13.87 million over the 2024 salary cap.
There are several avenues to create room, including signing star quarterback Dak Prescott to a contract extension. It is something that’s expected this offseason. Though, Jones himself would not commit to it on Tuesday. In fact, the long-time owner had a pretty confusing quote about Prescott.
“Dak has done nothing to change my mind about any promise for the future. I think I’ve said that we will go as far as Dak takes us in the playoffs. Remember that. We will go as far as Dak takes us. And that is how far we went. That doesn’t change a thing. We’ll go as far as Dak takes us.”
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Dak Prescott
Prescott boasts an absurd $59.46 million cap hit for next season. That’s just not sustainable. Per Over the Cap, extending the quarterback would save $26.23 million against the 2024 NFL salary cap.
Jones pretty much also made it clear that the Cowboys are willing to create long-term cap issues for short-term gains in that regard. Restructuring the contracts of several players will be in the cards.
Doing this with the likes of guard Zack Martin, defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence and cornerback Trevon Diggs would save another $25 million.
Meanwhile, it’s important to keep an eye on Michael Gallup and Brandin Cooks as potential cut candidates. Designating the two wide receivers post-June 1 cuts would save another $17.5 million.
The backdrop here is Dallas’ need to extend star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons.
It’s all about finding a happy medium. Dallas continues to push its cap situation down the line. At some point, it will catch up to the team.
For now, fans in Big D must be happy that Jones has his team set to go all in this offseason. That’s all you can ask after yet another major failure in the playoffs.