The Cowboys owner continues to back his excuse for not going after Derrick Henry last offseason.
The Dallas Cowboys are completely out of sync at the moment. They’ve dropped to 1-2, and face a short week and a NFC rival on Thursday Night Football. As questions continue to pour in after the Cowboys’ 28-25 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3, Jerry Jones still isn’t budging on the Derrick Henry chatter from the media.
Jones previously stated that the Cowboys didn’t pursue the Ravens’ power runner in free agency because they couldn’t afford him. However, the Cowboys owner/general manager made it a little more clear on Tuesday when he appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. Jones stopped the show host mid-question when they had brought up Henry, per Mike Florio of NBC Sports and Pro Football Talk.
“That’s correct,” Jones said. “That is very correct. Stop right there. That’s very correct. Part of what you would’ve paid him is going to players we paid in the past, and part of what you would have paid him is going forward in the future. But had I thought that that position this year was gonna make that kind of difference, and that’s what you save your bucks for. But it’s too complicated to point to a player. There’s too much at stake when you look at the entire offense and you look at what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do with the run game as opposed to the passing game. That’s too complicated to dwell on the fact that we don’t have a given player on the team.”
Henry ran 25 times for 151 yards and two touchdowns against the Cowboys’ defense in Week 3. The team also didn’t have much of an answer for Lamar Jackson either, as the Ravens quarterback completed 12-of-15 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown while rushing 14 times for 87 yards and one touchdown.
It was an embarrassing effort from the Dallas defense, which many thought would be a top-five unit at this point of the season. Not only was the run stoppage exposed, but it also brought Cowboys fans back to Henry, and why he doesn’t have the blue star on his helmet in 2024.
Jerry Jones, Cowboys could’ve signed Derrick Henry
To be fair, they also wanted to extend star cornerstones CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott, but their delay in the process ultimately shrunk any window to bring Henry in on a flexible deal.
It may never be established what Jones and the front office actually desired, and what they were trying to gain in the memorable 2024 offseason. But all we do know is that Henry would’ve had their offense in a much better position than where they’re currently sitting.
