In a sentiment echoed by many Dallas Cowboys fans. Pro Football Talk is blasting Jerry Jones for not delivering on his pre-draft tease of making "substantive" trades.
FRISCO - So, were there actual fires? Or only more public relations smoke?
When it comes to Jerry Jones and his pre-draft proclamation about "substantive" trades being in the works, some Dallas Cowboys fans - and media - slid to the edge of their seats waiting for the show. Where there's smoke there's going to be fire, they reasoned. Others, meanwhile, skeptically yawned and bet that it was merely the latest in a long line of attempts by the owner to keep his team relevant.
"We're looking at two things that could happen before or after the draft," Jones said a couple days before the draft. "Two pretty substantive trades."
So, what happened?
The Cowboys were linked - by CowboysCountry.com and various outlets - to trades for receivers such as Courtland Sutton of the Denver Broncos, George Pickens of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill. Some even urged and/or thought Jerry would pull a blockbuster and somehow move up from No. 12 to No. 2 to draft Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
Our reporting suggests the Cowboys made and received calls about a major trade or two. And, yes, for a receiver. There was also take a trade down with the Houston Texans. But ...
In the end, nothing. Not that the Cowboys - by most accounts - didn't have a productive draft. Almost unanimously they are getting high grades from draft experts.
But those that think Jones is the owner who cried wolf - Cowboys fans among them -now have another bullet in the chamber. Included in that group is Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.
Remind you, he's the same guy who writes a story about Shedeur Sanders potentially going back to Colorado, gloats about the story being the most popular in the site's 23-year history and then - buried down deep - admits it's a move that was never realistically going to happen.
Over the weekend Florio chimed in with a lot of disillusioned Cowboys fans, by poking fun at Jerry's latest broken promise.
"Fans and media have begun to wake up to the notion that Cowboys owner and G.M. Jerry Jones is more carnival barker than trophy chaser," he writes. "It’s not about winning, it’s about being interesting. And he always finds ways to be interesting."
Knowing the state of his impatient and unhappy fan base, Jerry probably shouldn't have excitedly announced "Hey guys, we're working on some big trades!". Lots of teams made calls about deals that never happened during the draft.
But when it's Jerry and the Cowboys, critics like Florio are there to pounce when those efforts don't come to fruition.
The truth? Jerry Jones, when it comes to trade-talk reveals, can be both a carnival barker and a non-liar.
