FRISCO, Texas — The 2024 NFL Draft kicks off Thursday night, but you wouldn’t have been too aware of that fact listening to the Dallas Cowboys pre-draft press conference on Tuesday.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones and his son Stephen, Dallas’ COO and EVP, spent most of their time with media members going out of their way to defend their salary cap management that led to the 2024 offseason going from being ” all in” to “get it done with less” as well as explaining their public lack of progress on extensions for 2023 NFL passing touchdowns leader Dak Prescott and 2023 receptions leader CeeDee Lamb . Both are entering the final year of their current contracts in 2024.
Dallas has spent an NFL-low $13.7 million in free agency this offseason, just under $20 million fewer dollars than the perpetually salary cap-starved New Orleans Saints ($32.2 million), per OverTheCap.com. As a result, the Cowboys lost eight players in free agency, tied for the third-most ever for Dallas in a single offseason. Five of the departures were regular starters last season: running back Tony Pollard ( Tennessee Titans ), left tackle Tyron Smith ( New York Jets ), center Tyler Biadasz ( Washington Commanders ), defensive end Dorance Armstrong (Washington Commanders) and defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins ( Seattle Seahawks ).