A year after the Dallas Cowboys went “all in” and busted, a new approach -- and catch phrase -- has been coined for the franchise.
Cowboys co-owner and COO Stephen Jones said the team will be “selectively aggressive” in its 2025 offseason approach as it aims to rebound from a 7-10 finish last season.
"We're going to be selectively aggressive out here,” Jones told reporters Monday in a scrum gathered ahead of the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. “Obviously, our goals historically have been to try to fill as many of your musts and needs before the draft so you can pick [the] best player on your board. We didn't get that totally accomplished last year, but certainly that's always the goal. Every year's different in terms of what those musts and needs are. Then, you also have to marry up what's in free agency versus where the draft is heavy, where we can help ourselves in the draft."
Jones’ comments came more than a year after Cowboys principal owner Jerry Jones first said Dallas would be going “all-in” for 2024 ahead of what became a relatively uneventful offseason.
Monday's answer was in reply to a question regarding Dallas pass rusher Micah Parsons recently stating he hoped to see the Cowboys taking a more “aggressive” approach this offseason.
"I don't wanna sit back and just watch other people build and build and build and I [we] stay the same,” Parsons said, “so we definitely need some call to action."
Among the top items on the Cowboys’ agenda -- presumably -- would be working out an extension for Parsons. The four-time Pro Bowler is the latest Cowboys standout prognosticated to break the bank. However, he’s made clear his hopes that his contract negotiations don’t linger like last year’s with quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. Lamb’s extension wasn’t worked out until after training camp, while Prescott’s new deal came to fruition on the same day as the season opener.
Stephen Jones offered no promises for the quick resolution Parsons is hoping for, but he also doesn’t believe there are any extenuating circumstances that should slow the process.
“Every contract negotiation's different,” he said. “CeeDee, there were still other receivers that were trying to get their deal done, and some of them still haven't gotten those deals done, as we all know. Dak's deal, we were working on that, and Dak was in, and it didn't really affect anything in terms of what we were doing. He was practicing every day and working hard, and as you know, he's not distracted by things like that. So, the CeeDee deal was just different, and we'll see how Micah's deal goes. I don't necessarily know that there's a lot of extenuating situations out there that would precede us from being able to get our hands around something with Micah, but we'll see."
Though Parsons’ contract situation is atop the Cowboys’ offseason marquee, it’s hardly the only item that needs addressing.
2021 NFL Draft third-round pick Osa Odighizuwa has become a top-line starting defensive tackle for the Cowboys, but, unable to work out an extension beforehand, they are now looking at him possibly hitting free agency.
Jones confirmed the parties are having conversations.
"We're certainly working with him right now, working with his agent and have had productive talks,” he said, “and we'll see where we end up this week."
When pressed for details, Jones didn’t offer any, but underscored the onus on locking up the DT.
“We're focusing right now on Osa getting a deal done,” he said.
Dallas has already lost a future Hall of Famer in Zack Martin, as the guard intends to retire.
His HOF-level ability, coupled with his leadership, will be impossible to replace immediately in Jones’ eyes.
“No, you don’t find Hall of Famers on the corner,” Jones said. “He’s a special man.
“At the end of the day, it’s not a total surprise. We communicate with our guys, so that wasn’t something we looked up and said, ‘Boy, that’s a shocker.’ We kinda saw it coming. Zack’s had an amazing career and you don’t replace [a guy like him].”
Taken in the same 2014 draft class as Martin, Demarcus Lawrence’s future is also unclear.
Jones seemed to suggest retirement could also be a possibility for D-Law, a four-time Pro Bowler who played just four games in 2024 due to a foot injury.
“We’ll have more discussions this week,” Jones said. “I don’t want to get out in front or assume one way or the other with D-Law. I’m sure he can speak to that, that’s the way we like to leave it, just as Zack spoke for himself when he was gonna retire, we’ll have the same respect for Demarcus Lawrence. I’m not aware of anything right now other than he’s playing.”
Following a disappointing campaign, another pivotal offseason is at hand for the Cowboys, one all the more crucial when considering how poorly their 2024 offseason played out.
Jones is confident that the team’s particularly pugnacious approach will pay off with better dividends than the last.
“We’re gonna look at everything we can,” he said. “We’re gonna be selectively aggressive.
“We’re gonna try to improve our football team -- not try, we’re gonna improve our football team. We expect to have success next year.”