Dallas Cowboys: I’m still not sold on giving Byron Jones the big bucks
The Dallas Cowboys have a very tough decision to make in a relatively very short time. Will they pay Byron Jones or won’t they, for that is the question.
The Dallas Cowboys are owned by Jerry Jones, as we all know, one of the worlds and world of sports’ foremost brilliant businessmen. Plainly and simply put, he knows how to make a dollar.
Outside of the normal hustle and bustle of his personal and business prosperity though, there seems to be some extra money talk happening around the Cowboys this season, and rightfully so. Ezekiel Elliott held out in Cabo for more money and security, and eventually got just that.
Dak Prescott has been at the top of a lot of conversations throughout the season surrounding his potential deal, while Amari Cooper has been on record as showing patience about his next contract, but they aren’t the only ones.
Number one Dallas Cowboy corner, the highly ranked and regarded Byron Jones, is also slated to be a free agent after this season concludes. He has been talked about, touted, and ranked by some as being one of the top cornerbacks in the league over the last few seasons. He doesn’t do it for me though.
While Jones can cover, I guess, he doesn’t make some of the plays that you see the highest-paid and profile cornerbacks in the league make. In example, Jalen Ramsey takes away a whole side of the field or shuts a receiver down, while you do see Brown passed on. While he has his warts, even Marcus Peters takes an interception or two per season all the way back for a touchdown.
The point here is that you not only want your cornerbacks to force turnovers in general, but when they are slated to potentially be paid amongst the elite and thus taking up a chunk of the salary under the cap, they have to be playmakers and Byron Jones is just not that.
On the season, Jones has exactly zero interceptions, while he also only has two across his entire five-year career. He does have three forced fumbles, with one coming during this season, but that isn’t where a defensive back’s bread is going to be buttered unless his name is Charles Tillman. But even Peanut Tillman averaged over two interceptions per season across his 12-year career, with a grand total of 38.
It’s a very sticky situation. With the trade deadline coming up, there is no way that the Cowboys will trade him. While that is oftentimes a consideration if the team feels as though they aren’t going to re-sign a player, no indications have been made thus far that the team is seeking to do that.
I’m not sure if that would be wise at the moment anyhow, considering that this team is in first place of a very winnable NFC East division, with hopes of doing a lot more than just winning the division. While I don’t believe he is worthy of a mega-deal, he is of more value to this Cowboys team at the moment than anything they would likely receive in return for him.
Again, it is a very sticky situation. It’s like being tied with rope to an infinitely wide sheet of flypaper, covered with glue before being layered over with duct tape, then sandwiched between Velcro, before finally being dipped in candle wax prior to getting set out to dry. Yea, that kind of sticky.
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The Dallas Cowboys have a ton of money matters to sort out, but they shouldn’t let this one confuse them too much. He can help while he’s still around, but if his expectations start to get anywhere above the $10 million annually range, let him walk and getting as high as 10 scares the dickens out of me. I’m interesting to see how the rest of his season plays out, though there’s likely nothing he can do to change the perception of him.