FRISCO - ESPN and NFL.com are again having fun with the Dallas Cowboys in free agency, poking fun at Jerry Jones' relative inactivity.
And that came before Tuesday night's blockbusters news that Pro Bowl edge rusher Joey Bosa signed with the Buffalo Bills.
Bosa to the Bills? Not to worry. The Cowboys signed, um, an edge-rusher named Payton Turner. And while defensive tackle Jonathan Allen landed with the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas nabbed a comp in Solomon Thomas that has started only 34 games in eight NFL seasons with three teams. Still bummed about the Cowboys missing out on Saquon Barkley or Derrick Henry? They just signed Javonte Williams. The Washington Commanders traded for a Pro Bowl left tackle in Laremy Tunsil, but Dallas answered with ... Robert Jones?
Take that, critics.
Bosa to the Cowboys likely never was rational or realistic, but Cowboys fans nonetheless hoped he'd move their team's "selectively aggressive" needle. Why? Bosa signed a one-year deal worth $12 million that with incentives could reach $15 million.
Combined, the Cowboys' four signees - Jones $5M, Thomas $4M, Williams and Turner $3M - will make $15 million in 2025.
Despite the Cowboys making moves - unlike last year's absolute whiff - NFL.com has already named Jerry as the "biggest loser" of early free agency. The title was earned not for the team's move, but instead because it's again dragging its feet with their own high-profile contract: Micah Parsons.
"The Dallas Cowboys owner couldn't have been pleased when he saw the Cleveland Browns giving all that money to Myles Garrett," NFL.com writes. "That's because his job of signing star linebacker Micah Parsons to a new deal just became a whole lot harder. If you thought Jones had some healthy tussles with those other stars over their deals, just wait to see how this one plays out with Parsons. It's going to hurt, big time."
Earlier Tuesday, ESPN's gaggle of morning show hosts even went so far as to advise Parsons to leave the Cowboys because of their relative inactivity on the open market.
