After Ravens running back Derrick Henry rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns against a struggling Dallas defense, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the team didn’t sign a modern-day Jim Brown in free agency because they couldn’t afford to pay him.
It’s a container for something other than butter.
They could afford to hire him. They chose not to pursue him.
Henry’s contract with the Ravens carries a cap number of $5.105 million in 2024. The Cowboys currently have $25.8 million in cap space.
Things were tough at the start of the offseason, but the Cowboys are to blame for not being more flexible when they had the chance to go “all in” for a player like Henry (wait for it). The new contract they finally signed with receiver CeeDee Lamb created over $9 million in cap space, and quarterback Dak Prescott’s new contract creates well over $10 million.
But the Cowboys delayed both deals for reasons that still don’t make sense. It’s never cheaper to sign a player who is due to sign a new contract.
Instead, the Cowboys spent $2 million to re-sign running back Ezekiel Elliott, who had six yards on three carries against Baltimore and has 62 yards this season.
So Jerry wasn’t telling the truth about Henry. Jones could afford to hire Henry. Jones didn’t do what was necessary to pursue Henry. And now Jerry’s team is paying the price for his stinginess.
This is the root of the Cowboys’ problems. For all the good he’s given baseball, Jerry is stingy. And now, instead of chasing that long-lost glory hole, he’s chosen to gaslight his fan base into believing that his shoddy little family business (with a $250 million superyacht moored in the back) could never scrape together the cash and cap space to sign one of the league’s best running backs.
