OXNARD, Calif. — Early Tuesday morning, as media members began to filter into training camp for the fourth straight kickoff news conference with the Dallas Cowboys’ holy trinity — team owner Jerry Jones, executive vice president Stephen Jones and head coach Mike McCarthy — a visitor nodded to a Cowboys staffer.
“Exciting day,” the visitor said. “Fresh start!”
The Dallas staffer nodded and shot back: “And then it starts to feel like Groundhog Day.”
And in some respects, so it did, with all the usual hallmarks of the typical Cowboys preamble to the season. You had the typical lightly guarded undertone of supreme optimism from Jerry, buoyed by the annual “things are looking up” state-of-the-harvest report from McCarthy. And finally, the usual stern accountant refrain from Stephen Jones, reminding everyone that contracts were being negotiated and the financial outlook of the build was well in grasp.
It was a familiar tune for Dallas, albeit coming out of a 2023 offseason with far less talent upheaval and pressing concerns than one year ago. Yes, perennial All-Pro offensive lineman Zack Martin didn’t report to the team Tuesday, representing the Cowboys’ biggest holdout since Ezekiel Elliott in 2019. But that wasn’t enough to weigh down a day that would end up highlighted by a five-year, $97 million extension of cornerback Trevon Diggs. If anything, those two developments — one major holdout and one major extension — spoke to what 2023 represents for Dallas.
This is the moment when the Cowboys are on the cusp of some roster change and potential revitalization in the next 12 months. It’s a period when two things are intersecting in the agenda: a continued spin-up of younger parts of the roster that will become the next foundation, and a winding-down of some long-term cornerstones that will need to be replaced sooner than later. And right in the middle of it, Dallas might have the most balanced cross-section of experience and talent since McCarthy took over in 2020.
A roster of players that McCarthy confidently dubbed, “Definitely the best in four years.”
That layering of talent includes some core players who are entering a portion of their career where they are either deep into their prime years or tiptoeing toward the end of it. Among them, you can now count quarterback Dak Prescott, who will turn 30 on Saturday and has now started 103 games — including the playoffs — during his career. Surrounding him, a pair of 32-year-old offensive pillars in tackle Tyron Smith and Martin at guard (when he eventually reports), and wideout acquisition Brandin Cooks, who turns 30 in September. Rounding out the longish-in-the-tooth defensive experience: defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence (31), cornerback Stephon Gilmore (32), and a pair of late-20s safeties in Jayron Kearse and Donovan Wilson.
That’s not exactly an “all-in or bust” group when it comes to experience. But the implications of this team are clear. The Cowboys have a roster saturated with young talent and a handful of aging stars or starters who are entering dicey territory when it comes to the implications of their contracts. Prescott is entering a phase where he’s going to need to do an extension next offseason to get some relief from a $54.9 million salary-cap number. Martin’s impending push for a raise could signal a literal changing of the guard next offseason. Meanwhile, Smith, Lawrence and Gilmore could all be let go in free agency next offseason.
This is what fans should have heard Tuesday when Stephen Jones rattled off much-needed contract extensions and went in this order: Diggs (whose deal was being wrapped up at that very moment), wideout CeeDee Lamb, edge rusher Micah Parsons and offensive tackle Terence Steele. That quartet is the next set of cornerstones, presumably with an extended Prescott in the middle for the stretch run of his 30s.
This is how the 2023 Super Bowl push should be processed: as a last grasp for a handful of aging players who might not be in Oxnard when camp kicks off in 2024. But also as a group of lingering foundational veterans who helped Dallas recapture some winning consistency under McCarthy. That’s not to mention this group captured the heart of Jerry, who is the only general manager in the league who can see his aging talent through the lens of three decades of players who came and went without a championship.
It’s a reality that Jones hinted at Tuesday when he processed the sense of urgency with the current group.
“When I look at where we are with Dak, when I look at where we are with Tyron Smith, when I see [that] and what I’ve experienced [with] players that have played great for the Cowboys that aren’t here today, we need to get it done now while we’ve got them,” Jerry Jones said. “I think that’s healthy. I think that’s the way the Cowboys’ [competitors] are structured. That causes you to really pop up in the morning and be ready to gnaw a leg off.”
As much as that’s a quote about Prescott and Smith, and maybe Martin, Lawrence and others, it’s likely also a quote about Tony Romo, Dez Bryant, Jason Witten, DeMarcus Ware and others. Jerry is the longest tenured general manager in professional sports. With that comes the institutional memory to recognize that you simply don’t always win enough games with many of your most foundational players.
So for a handful of these players, this is at least the start of the end, the start of the all-in push, the start of now or never. And it’s coming at seemingly the right point in time, on the heels of the first back-to-back playoff appearances since the 2006 and 2007 seasons, and the first back-to-back double-digit win seasons since 1995 and 1996.
For the first time in a long time, Dallas is on the doorstep of being both good and consistent. But as McCarthy noted Tuesday, this is still Groundhog’s Day when it comes to the end result.
“Consistency — if you want to bang the door down, you’ve got to be on the front porch every single time,” McCarthy said. “I think we definitely have established that. [Now] it’s about winning the championship. I don’t shy away from that at all.”
More than ever — and for more than a few heading for a sunset in the franchise — this feels like now or never.
