The Dallas Cowboys created a swath of salary cap space in recent days by restructuring the contracts of CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, but that doesn't mean owner Jerry Jones is ready to open up the free-agent coffers.
"I'm not looking at free agency as a place to fill voids," Jones said on Wednesday, via ESPN.
The Cowboys created $56.6 million in salary cap space with the Prescott and Lamb restructures. The moves pushed cap dollars to future years, opening up space in the current market. Any cap space left by the end of the season can be rolled over into next year.
Dallas could use some of the cap space to keep its own, as they did with the Osa Odighizuwa extension, and the Cowboys certainly have needs, including on the offensive line, at running back and throughout the defense.
After last year's "all-in" comment from Jones got skewered following another year of free agency inactivity, the owner is taking the opposite approach, downplaying Dallas' plan when the market opens next week.
The contract restructures don't affect Dallas' ability to sign star defensive end Micah Parsons to a massive long-term extension. Deals of that ilk actually drop a player's current salary cap number ($24 million) and push it to future years. If the Cowboys had not restructured a single player this offseason, they still could have extended Parsons.
A new contract for Parsons would open up additional cap space for the Cowboys to use -- or not -- in free agency. Jones dismissed the Cowboys' penchant for waiting until much later in the process to get big deals done in recent seasons. Last year, Lamb signed at the end of training camp and Prescott hours before the season opened.
"We get criticized because we wait until the end or what you would call the end, and that is lining up for the first game," Jones said. "It just happens that way. I've been one of the earliest out there on several contracts in my 35 years."
Last year, the Cowboys watched several free agents walk, including running back Tony Pollard, left tackle Tyron Smith, center Tyler Biadasz and defensive ends Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler. This season, Jones plans to play it on a case-by-case basis.
"As opportunity would come up from [outside], not the draft, not from within, as the opportunity comes up, we'll weigh it," the Dallas owner said. "Last year, we would have waited, but we'll look and see the opportunity to improve on the plan that basically both defense and offense is to complement what we're wanting to do with a Dak-led team."
Coming off a 7-10 season and a coaching change, the Cowboys have the need and cap space to make moves in free agency. Next week, we'll see if Jones and Co. will again forego the first wave of free agency in search of bargains.
