Report: Dallas Cowboys’ Brass Says ‘We Just Didn’t Have The Money’ To Sign Star Running Back

Jones spoke with Adam Schein on Sirius XM Mad Dog Radio recently. Per a transcription by Mike Florio of NBC Sports on Jones’ comments during the appearance, the Cowboys front office didn’t reach out to Henry because they knew they didn’t have enough money allocated in their cap space to sign him:

“Well, first of all, nothing but respect for Derrick Henry,” Jones said. “I mean, he’s one of the top backs in this league. He’s had one of the great careers in this league. I wish him nothing but the best with the Ravens. I’m sure a great place for him.

Our situation is just, you know, and no one ever wants to say it, but it’s salary cap, and we just didn’t have the money to allocate to that position in terms of where we were from a cap standpoint, knowing what we’re looking at with Dak [Prescott] and certainly Micah [Parsons] and CeeDee Lamb.”

The Cowboys wanted to keep Tony Pollard

Even if the Cowboys had enough money to sign an elite running back, Henry would not have been the team’s first option to make a deal with. The Cowboys wanted to keep their 2019 fourth-round pick, Pollard, but decided they had to lose him because they didn’t have money to allocate to the backfield:

“We just didn’t have those type of resources to allocate to that position or we probably would’ve already had it filled with Tony Pollard. We hated to lose Tony Pollard. We had to lose Zeke the year before from a cap standpoint. And, you know, we just didn’t have the dollars to allocate to the running back position. And, certainly, looking to do it in a more efficient way in terms of how it complements the rest of our offensive roster.”

Why haven’t any of the big three been extended?

As of this publication, CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott, and Micach Parsons have not signed new deals with the Cowboys. Most reports surrounding Dallas indicate the Cowboys plan to delay signing those players as long as possible.

The Cowboys could have saved money on their 2024 cap by extending one or all three of those players. But they chose not to.

Waiting until next year to make a decision on Prescott could be in the team’s best interest. It could also be in the Cowboys’ best interest not to extend Lamb coming off a career-high season. The smartest move from the front office’s standpoint might be to reset their Super Bowl window instead of running it back with a team that can’t get past the Divisional Round.

But why tell the fans you’re “all-in” if you won’t even try to make a move for a legitimate weapon in the backfield?