Jerry Jones finally speaks to media, discusses fans at Cowboys' stadium, standing for anthem, Dak Prescott's contract
The NFL doesn’t keep official records on such things, but it seems like this is as long as Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has gone without speaking to the media.
On Wednesday, Jones broke a silence that dated to the NFL draft. Jones usually speaks whenever there’s a microphone nearby, so Cowboys media had a lot to ask him. Especially in this crazy offseason.
Jones did a video conference call with coach Mike McCarthy and team COO Stephen Jones, and had plenty to say. As usual.
Jerry Jones on games in fall, anthem protests
There were two league-wide issues that took center stage through the offseason: how teams are dealing with coronavirus issues and renewed anthem protests to bring attention to national social justice issues.
On the issue of playing games and having fans in the stadium, Jones had a predictable response. He says playing NFL games is important — he said football is important individually and for the country — and he wants fans in the stands (via Jon Machota of The Athletic).
Jerry Jones: “The Dallas Cowboys plan on playing all of our football games and we plan on playing them in front of our fans.” pic.twitter.com/vivPrAqOZS
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 12, 2020
How the capacity shakes out is unknown, but it’s easy to predict that however many fans Jones can safely have in the stadium, he will have. He said because AT&T Stadium is so large, he can have “pods” of 5-15 people in areas.
Jones’ insistence on fans in the stands came hours after the Washington Football Team, Dallas’ NFC East rivals, said they’d have no fans in the stadium for the 2020 season.
On the issue of players kneeling for the national anthem, Jones was against it in 2016 when it started with Colin Kaepernick and others. His outspokenness against kneeling for the anthem then led some to wonder if he was being silent for months this offseason as his own statement on the issue. He was asked about it Wednesday and said no final decision was made but it will have “grace.”
Jerry Jones on anthem protests: "Everybody understands where I stand with the flag. Everybody also understands where I stand on backing our players."
He had previously said he wanted players to stand but is willing to listen: "That was then, this is now. We're gonna have grace."— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 12, 2020
Jerry Jones has no made no decision on the anthem for the Cowboys. But he says he plans to show grace and understanding with his players.
No final decision has been made— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) August 12, 2020
Why didn’t Dak Prescott get a long-term deal?
The Cowboys-centric story of the offseason was Dak Prescott and his contract. Prescott and the team couldn’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal so Prescott will play on the franchise tag. That leads to another offseason of Prescott contract stories next year.
It’s unusual for Jones to not pay a player, but he said this odd offseason contributed to that.
Jerry Jones on Dak Prescott: "We think he's outstanding. We think he's our quarterback of the future." Jones mentioned the complications of navigating through COVID-19. "This was just a less than stable time to be talking about generational dollars."
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 12, 2020
Despite no long-term deal for Dak at the July 15 deadline, Cowboys COO Stephen Jones is “more convinced than ever” that a deal will get done after this season.
— Rob Phillips (@robphillips3) August 12, 2020
Now that Jones is talking again, it’s unlikely it’ll be months until we hear from him again. He’ll still have plenty left over to talk about.
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