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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones speaks during a news conference as the NFL football team opens training camp, Tuesday, July 28, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif.<\/p>\n
Mark J. Terrill\/AP Photo\/Mark J. Terrill<\/p>\n
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) \u2014 The Dallas Cowboys typically arrive at training camp with some sort of off-field drama swirling around the team, often in the form of a high-profile contract dispute, but there are no such issues this year going into their traditional Southern California sojourn.<\/p>\n
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It isn\u2019t by design, according to Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, but the 83-year-old football maverick will take the appearance of calm over the alternative.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI don\u2019t believe it makes one iota worth of difference on whether or not we block the guy or go off tackle, but I do like the perception that we\u2019ve had a quite uneventful offseason, and let\u2019s see how we can work in that,\u201d Jones said Tuesday at his annual precamp news conference.<\/p>\n
Compared with a year ago when the stalemate with standout defensive end Micah Parsons over a contract extension quickly devolved into a contentious hold-in and eventually culminated in his shocking trade to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys appear to have no financial concerns threatening to overshadow or undermine their on-field work over the next three-plus weeks.<\/p>\n
Instead, the main focus will be on shaping an overhauled defensive roster under a new coaching staff into a unit capable of helping head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s dynamic offense.<\/p>\n
The urgency to address that side of the ball, Jones said, is where the narrative of a calm offseason ends.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot going on, and we\u2019ve had to really scramble a lot,\u201d he said. \u201cThe kind of stuff you don\u2019t see, but that should be that way. It\u2019s supposed to be hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cowboys hired Christian Parker from the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in January as their defensive coordinator, tasking the 34-year-old secondary specialist with fixing a defense that gave up the most points in franchise history (511) and ranked last in the NFL in scoring (30.1 points per game) and passing yards allowed (251.5).<\/p>\n
Dallas also used its first three draft picks on defense, including taking Ohio State safety Caleb Downs with the 11th selection, and worked to address other personnel deficiencies in free agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve made that bed when we brought in new scheme, new coaches, new players,” Jones said. \u201cWe\u2019re going with new right there, so I\u2019ve bought into that.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Getting that group up to speed to assist an offense led by the star trio of quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens will be critical for the Cowboys\u2019 hopes of returning to the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. Dallas went 7-9-1 in Schottenheimer\u2019s first year, including a 6-1-1 record when scoring 30 or more points.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll those moves that we made, it was not a quiet offseason for us, and it was a great offseason for us,\u201d Schottenheimer said.<\/p>\n