OXNARD, Calif. — Yeah yeah, things are different, blah blah blah. Usually, and annually, no one could begrudge fans of the Dallas Cowboys for feeling that way after three decades of crawling through the desert in search of water.
But, objectively, speaking, it just might be true in 2026; and Dak Prescott agrees.
"Yeah, it's amazing," he said following the Cowboys' second training camp practice, having also heard Jones’ recent declaration about likely making another blockbuster trade before Week 1.
"... When you watch what the organization is doing, that tells you [a lot]," he explained. "I'm blessed to be here 10 years, but to watch what's happened over the last couple years, and to see his mind and his urgency, and him still wanting to do whatever he can to make this team better — that's why you play and practice."
The science of the situation isn't complicated: for roughly 30 years, owner and general manager Jerry Jones has leaned heavily on the NFL Draft and pulled back on blockbuster moves while throwing a proverbial "pie" (salary cap) at the crowd as his reasoning for not being too aggressive.
But since the blockbuster trade for George Pickens, he's since mailed off Micah Parsons and flipped that into three time-Pro Bowler Kenny Clark, All-Pro (and four-time Pro Bowler) Quinnen Williams, traded for Pro Bowler Rashan Gary and then traded up in the 2026 NFL Draft to select all-world safety Caleb Downs with the 11th-overall pick.
Jones is, for the first time in decades, mortgaging the future like there's no tomorrow; and largely because as the years tick by for Prescott, the number of tomorrow's are dwindling.
"[The moves help] make sure you're giving this team everything you can, because when the owner's doing it, it's going from the top to the bottom," the All-Pro quarterback said. "And life's about being urgent, you know? A lot of us want to wait and want to say, 'Oh, we'll do it later.'
"But what are we really promised? Whether it's [football] or whether it's life. Why not now?"
The aforementioned moves aren't the only thing the Cowboys have done to drive home the objective observation that, while the history is the history, the present feels as if a switch has gone off in Jones' head and maybe, just maybe, The Gambler is back.
The trades and free agency signings proved evidence to it, sure, but the biggest roll of the dice by Dallas might be in how they gave a 34-year-old position coach of the rival Philadelphia Eagles, namely, Christian Parker, his first opportunity at coordinating his own defense; and carte blanche to build his staff however he saw fit, no less.
No excuses to keep Matt Eberflus on staff because he's familiar. No more signing headline names from the old football guard because out of comfort and also out of fear of the unknown.
The chips are being pushed to the middle of the table, and it has Prescott (and hopefully the rebuilt defense) ready to run through a wall to make good on what the front office has done, and will do next (?).
"Playing in this organization, being in it for 10 years, going into year 11, I'm not gonna shy away from [Super Bowl talk]. It sucks when you don't get to play for it, when you're watching other teams play in the playoffs," said Prescott, the Cowboys having missed the postseason twice since 2023. "There's nothing worse than that. I said I wanted to be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys when I was six years old, and said I'd be in the NFL, and I got here.
"A lot of things in my life, I said I'd do, and I did it. So why shy away from that now? Why should I shy away from asking people to hold me to the same standard that I believe that I can accomplish, and that this team can accomplish?"
Yeah yeah, things are different, blah blah blah.
Consider this, though: eventually, things actually are, and there are enough signs lighting up the Cowboys' moves to make it difficult to act as if this is all just the same old annual hopium.
"You don't think we can win the Super Bowl, and I like that," Jones said.
Of course, Time is a snitch and will tell the full tale eventually but, for now, it finally feels like The Gambler isn't bluffing. And what a ride this might be if he pushes a few more expensive chips onto the table, and soon.
No matter how you look at it, Prescott and the Cowboys as we know them are running out of tomorrows, and now, for arguably the first time since you could get gasoline for a dollar a gallon, the organization is acting like it.
