Dallas Cowboys chief operating officer and co-owner Stephen Jones discussed the team’s offseason and revealed some of the organization’s plans before free agency.
Jones spoke with The Dallas Morning News on Sunday night about the upcoming offseason for America’s Team. The biggest focus currently is a new contract for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa.
Odighizuwa had the best season of his career in 2024 with 47 total tackles and 4.5 sacks and is now in line to receive a significant contract.
Jones called Odighizuwa an “important piece” for the Cowboys and said the two sides have already begun discussing a contract to keep him in Dallas for the foreseeable future.
“We have had negotiations with Osa,” he added, per DMN. “I just think Osa is a really good football player.”
Jones added that the team would also look into re-signing cornerback Jourdan Lewis and running back Rico Dowdle, explaining that the team is “very interested, obviously,” in retaining both players.
“Definitely J Lew. He’s our starting nickel. We’re interested in getting him back,” stated Jones, per DMN.
“The same with Rico, obviously. Rico had a great year. He got most of his yards in half of a season, once we got back committed to the run.”
One significant change that Dallas is prepared for is the possibility of selecting a quarterback in the upcoming draft, signaling that the franchise could move on from Trey Lance this offseason.
Jones further explained that one goal for the team is to “get a young quarterback in the draft,” though he provided no indication about potential selections.
“I don’t know where that’s going to be,” he said, per DMN.
“That’s why we gave a [fourth-round pick] for Trey. It seems like all the quarterbacks, even guys we have in the fourth round, go in the first. They always go so much higher than what you think.”
Drafting another quarterback would mark a clear sign of failure from the Cowboys franchise in the trade to acquire Lance.
Dallas traded for Lance in 2023 with the expectation that he would serve as the team’s backup quarterback; however, Lance played just 98 total snaps for the Cowboys as the team opted to place Cooper Rush ahead of him in the depth chart.
Dallas will now have to decide during the draft whether to retain either of these quarterbacks or use yet another draft pick to find a backup quarterback in 2025.