INDIANAPOLIS — Thirty years after the Dallas Cowboys’ last Super Bowl appearance, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Friday at the NFL scouting combine that he feels he has let the fans down and is prepared to change course to chase another championship.
“I really can’t accept just the thought of winning one Super Bowl and then what?” Jones said, adding that he envisions trying to put a team together that can “get another one” and that he would “hitchhike back to Dallas to win a Super Bowl” if he could.
After a 7-9-1 finish in 2025, Jones promised a different approach to roster building, including a bigger role for free agency. The Cowboys historically have been selective in free-agent spending, favoring cost-effective additions, but Jones said, “I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have.”
To create room under the new $301.2 million salary cap, Jones plans to restructure key contracts. Reworking the deals of quarterback Dak Prescott, receiver CeeDee Lamb and left guard Tyler Smith could free roughly $66 million. Jones also outlined plans to restructure the contracts of defensive tackles Kenny Clark, Quinnen Williams and Osa Odighizuwa, who are scheduled to count about $63 million against the cap; with Clark and Williams, he said the team could add voidable years and reshape their deals to push money off the current cap.
“I want you to know that the only way to push more [out] is for me to go borrow some of my future, OK? Expect me to go borrow some of my future,” Jones said.
Jones said the spending will be driven by a desire to improve the defense and stop teams on third down more consistently. The Cowboys ranked near the bottom of the league in yards and points allowed in 2025. Christian Parker has been hired as the new defensive coordinator, and Jones acknowledged that fixing the defense will take more than one or two additions while suggesting many players who were on last year’s defense will perform better in 2026 because the situation has changed.
With two first-round picks, Jones said the Cowboys have an opportunity to add defensive talent and did not rule out trades, citing past moves that brought in players such as Javonte Williams and Kenny Clark in deals tied to Micah Parsons as examples of the type of aggressive roster building he would consider. “We have the ammunition to be good at it,” he said, “and I wouldn’t hesitate to be good at it if it will help our team and help the timeline that we’re talking about.”
At 83, Jones was reflective but resolute about his priorities. Beyond business and other pursuits, he said winning a Super Bowl remains at the top of his list. “It’s every bit the prize of anything I have, with the exception of family and your love for family,” Jones said. “Make no mistake about it, I don’t have a higher priority than to go and win a Super Bowl.”
