మీకా పార్సన్స్ యొక్క తప్పు

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Eric Williams

NFL Reporter

OXNARD, Calif. — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it plainly when he was asked about his penchant for keeping his team front of mind for NFL fans 365 days of the year.

“I was the first one to ever put a camera in our draft room,” Jones said. “I’ve found that our fans like getting behind the scenes. … All of this is a part of sport. I’ve always believed that. And that’s why in my 35 years I’ve always encouraged a lot more visibility, a lot more candor, a lot more of this regarding a lot of times very sensitive subjects. But all of it related to the Cowboys and sport and having some kind of interest.

“Fun is not what’s happening. What’s happening is I’m enjoying the whole show. I don’t know if I’ve worked a day in my life since I’ve bought the Cowboys.”

If only Jones were that relentless in building and sustaining a championship culture. You know the numbers: The Cowboys haven’t played in a Super Bowl in 30 years and have won four playoff games over the last 20 years. Their NFC East division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles, have won two Super Bowls over the last eight seasons under the direction of innovative GM Howie Roseman, and are a strong contender to win a third title this year.

Jones seems more interested in generating headlines in a made-for-TV contract negotiation with star pass rusher Micah Parsons, who escalated the situation when he requested a trade last Friday. Later this month, Jones will be the star figure in a Netflix docuseries titled “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” chronicling his life during his tenure as Cowboys owner.

While Jones is focused on getting more eyeballs on his product, the team the Cowboys scrimmaged against on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Rams, were more intent on improving their product on the field in the hopes of Sean McVay making his third Super Bowl appearance in his nine seasons. The Rams finished 22 yards from knocking out the Eagles in the division round this past season, reloading a talented group that’s made the playoffs in each of the last two seasons.

Defensively, the Cowboys had no answer for Rams running back Kyren Williams and the Los Angeles running game, along with struggling to keep up with receivers Davante Adams, Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell.

And on offense, even with the addition of a new running back in Javonte Williams through free agency and rookie draft pick Jaydon Blue, the Cowboys couldn’t get anything going on the ground.

“They were great hosts today,” chirped an always-energetic Rams head coach Sean McVay at the start of his press conference at the joint practice.

Jones and the Cowboys were hospitable hosts, making the Rams feel very comfortable on their training camp stomping rounds in Oxnard.

Yes, receivers KaVontae Turpin, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens created some highlights with Dak Prescott in the passing game for the Cowboys, but those successes were few and far between. New head coach Brian Schottenheimer, who is also calling plays for the first time in four years, emphasized the Cowboys were vanilla in terms of scheme, but also acknowledged his team has a ways to go.

“Quite honestly, they gave us some fits,” Shottenheimer said. “We had some communication errors. The run game wasn’t great on offense. Some of the run-through linebackers, we’ve got to do a better job against that. But we got a bunch of work against a bunch of different looks. We’ll go watch the film in a little bit, and usually it’s not as bad or as good.”

Look, the Cowboys are missing one of the best players in the NFL two weeks into training camp – someone Jones said could miss the team’s season opener against the Eagles because of a contract stalemate partly created by Jones, who believes Parsons should be on the field honoring the final deal of his rookie contract.

“I bought the Dallas Cowboys with a handshake,” Jones said when asked about a handshake deal he believed he had with Parsons in March. “It took about 30 seconds. I gave the number, shook hands, the details we worked out later. As a matter of fact, one of the details involved a lot of money and I had to flip a coin over that. But the fundamental, ‘I’m buying and you’re gonna sell it to me for that range,’ that’s done. And those are done with eye contact and a handshake.

“Just so you understand the way that I communicate with people that I negotiate with. Let’s leave it at that. There’s no question that in the case of a player contract, you have to have it in writing. All parties do. We have a contract in writing, yet we’re still talking about renegotiating.”

Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons’ relationship hasn’t been too friendly as of late, with the star edge rusher requesting a trade as the two sides have struggled to come to terms on a longterm deal. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Cowboys need all the help they can get, as they are led by a rookie coach who most NFL observers question whether he’s qualified for the job, fair or not. Jones has the highest-paid quarterback in the league, but has failed to surround him with a legitimate running back, even when one was available last year and wanted to play for him in Derrick Henry.

After passing on signing a top-flight receiver in free agency, Jones finally made a move for a difference maker in trading for Pickens, but the Cowboys still have holes along the offensive and defensive lines, and do not appear to have the roster makeup capable of competing against the likes of the Washington Commanders and Eagles.

However, across the field from them on Tuesday stood a team that quietly got better in the offseason and avoided any self-inflicted headaches. They re-signed Matthew Stafford and recently extended Williams. They brought in a big-time playmaker in Adams and improved their run defense with the addition of defensive tackle Poona Ford.

Jones is haggling with Parsons over a principled contract stance and chasing eyeballs with a historical team documentary while teams like the Rams are building a roster that can legitimately win a Super Bowl.

Jones, 82, understands he’s closer to the end than the beginning of his football legacy. He says he’s all in, and if that’s the case, signing one of his team’s best players to a deal that keeps him on the team for the foreseeable future and eliminates a distraction for a new coach should at the top of the priority list, not creating a side show for a fan base pining for the salad days of the 1990s, when the rest of the league feared “America’s Team.”

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on X at @eric_d_williams.

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