After Ravens running back Derrick Henry gained 151 yards and scored two touchdowns against a beleaguered Dallas defense, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said that his team didn’t sign the modern-day Jim Brown in free agency because they couldn’t afford him.
That’s a crock of something other than butter.
They could have afforded him. They chose not to pursue him.
Henry’s deal with the Ravens has a cap number of $5.105 million in 2024. The Cowboys currently have $25.8 million in cap space.
While things were tight earlier in the offseason, it’s the Cowboys’ fault they didn’t have more when they had a chance to (wait for it) go “all-in” for someone like Henry. The new deal eventually given to receiver CeeDee Lamb cleared more than $9 million in cap space, and quarterback Dak Prescott’s new contract created well over $10 million.
But the Cowboys dragged their feet on both contracts, for reasons that still make no sense. It never gets cheaper to sign a player who is in line for a new deal.
Instead, the Cowboys sunk $2 million into a reunion with running back Ezekiel Elliott, who had six yards on three carries against Baltimore and who has 62 yards for the season.
So, no, Jerry’s not telling the truth about Henry. Jones could have afforded him. Jones chose not to do what needed to be done to pursue him. And now Jerry’s team is paying the price for his cheapness.
That’s really the root of the Cowboys problems. For all the good he has done for the game, Jerry is cheap. And now, in lieu of pursuing long-lost gloryhole, he’s opting to gaslight his fan base into believing that his poor little mom-and-pop operation (with a $250 million superyacht moored out back) couldn’t scrape together the cash and cap space to sign one of the best running backs in the league.
