FRISCO, Texas – After the second minicamp practice completed on Friday, Cowboys VP Stephen Jones, the team's director of player personnel, weighed on a variety of topics, ranging from the previous afternoon session on the field to more of the business side of the game.
Here are some quick points Stephen Jones addressed Saturday afternoon:
- Stephen Jones confirmed what has been speculated for months – the Cowboys have placed a bid on hosting the 2018 NFL Draft. Jones said the club is hoping to house the three-day event at both The Star in Frisco as well as AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
- Jones also the Cowboys are still hopeful to land the much-anticipated Sept. 16 boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin (GGG) at AT&T Stadium. The Cowboys could host it because the team is playing that weekend in Denver against the Broncos.
- Jones said the draft picks all showed them "what you'd thought you'd see." He said the staff was pleased with Taco Charlton, Ryan Switzer and Joey Ivie among the others. But he said the "DBs were really impressive – all of them." Jones cited the quickness and awareness that were on display from rookie draft picks Chidobe Awuzie, Jourdan Lewis and Marquez White.
- Arkansas rookie Dan Skipper was supposed to sign as undrafted free agent but the Cowboys held off to check on a previous medical condition. Skipper, a 6-10 lineman who played tackle but is listed at guard, instead went through the practices on a tryout basis. Stephen Jones said he is hopeful Skipper can be signed to fill the open roster spot.
- While he is excited to have eight of nine draft picks already signed, Jones said there is work to be done to sign the last one. Jourdan Lewis will be the last to sign, just like third-rounder Maliek Collins was in 2016. "It's just a weird round. There's not a lot of rhyme or reason to the slotting. So it makes it more difficult (to sign third-rounders)."
- On June 2, an extra $5 million will hit the Cowboys' cap thanks to the Tony Romo release. While a lot of that money will be used to fill out the 53-man roster, sign the practice squad and compensate for injury settlements and future signings, Jones said it frees them up to be sign or trade for a veteran if needed. "I will say this, we're not strapped to the point where we couldn't do something. You never know when a trade might pop up."
- Jones said the Cowboys will likely get to work soon on giving a contract extension to guard Zack Martin. "We'll probably start on that in camp." The Cowboys have given extensions to both Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick during training camp in the last two years.
