PHOENIX – At the NFL Owners Meetings this week, Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones is busy with his responsibilities as co-chairman of the league's competition committee, which votes on various measures and rule changes each year.
He's also just as busy with his responsibilities with the Cowboys as they head into the 2026 season, with less than a month remaining before the NFL Draft where Dallas will have two-first round picks for the first time since 2008.
Let's dive into some of the biggest takeaways from what Jones had to say in Phoenix this afternoon:
Free agency additions "checked a lot of boxes"
At present, the Cowboys have acquired ten external players through trades or free agency, eight of which have come on the defensive side of the ball.
So far, Jones believes that their additions added with bringing back some of their own players has made for a good start to constructing the 2026 roster.
"At the end of the day, I think we checked a lot of boxes," Jones said. "I think we really improved our football team. I felt really good about what we accomplished. I think we were, between trades, between negotiations, between signing our own guys, doing things that we felt were needed, I think we got a lot done."
What is the Cowboys' plan at the linebacker position?
One area that hasn't been addressed just yet is linebacker, a fact that Jones and the Cowboys are well aware of, especially after coming up short on several free agents early in the cycle.
"I think it was well written that we made some runs, we didn't get it done, but obviously that's something that's still, we hadn't checked that box yet," Jones said. "We've still got a big draft ahead of us and we'll continue to look at other opportunities that might present themselves."
Was it disappointing to miss out on adding a veteran player at the position?
"I wouldn't say disappointing," Jones said. "Anytime you're in the hunt for something, you'd like to think things could work out. We also look at every situation differently. Obviously, in those particular cases, it didn't work out."
Last season, the Cowboys were in a similar situation at wide receiver. They hadn't signed one to pair with CeeDee Lamb in free agency, couldn't get the player they wanted in the draft, and afterwards traded for George Pickens. Jones could see Dallas' strategy at linebacker this year being similar.
"I don't think it has to be before the draft, no," Jones said of when the team was looking to add a linebacker. "I don't think there's any timing on that. I go back to player acquisition is 365 days a year. We've gotten good players after the draft… There's always opportunities for trades, and we'll continue to look at every avenue."
When asked about whether or not a rookie could handle the responsibilities of a mike linebacker, Jones said it "absolutely" was possible.
Why Dallas made the Osa Odighizuwa trade
On March 11, the Cowboys traded defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick. It was not an easy trade for Dallas to make because of the presence Odighizuwa brought from a leadership and locker room standpoint, but one that ultimately Jones and the team saw fit to make.
"Osa's a really good football player. He represents everything you want in a football player, both on and off the field. He's a class act. He did everything the right way while he was a Cowboy," Jones said. "It was just one of those situations with our resources in the interior defensive line, there were a lot of resources there. From a pick standpoint, it was nice, but obviously financially and cap wise there was a lot of resources tied up there too."
"When we sat down and had our conversations with Christian and where we needed to emphasize certain areas, then certainly we had to make a tough decision there. Again, I can't say it enough, what a class act Osa was, what he did for our organization, the way he represented himself as a leadership was second to none, and we wish him nothing but the best."
Jones' confidence in the Cowboys improving in the win column next season
Finishing the year at 7-9-1 is not a spot that Jones or the Cowboys want to be in any year. But it was the spot they closed out the 2025 season in and are looking to improve on in 2026.
What gives Jones the confidence that Dallas is going to improve their record in year two of the Brian Schottenheimer era?
"Just our work in the offseason," Jones said. "I think we had a great, I think, search in terms of revamping our defensive staff. So I feel very optimistic about that and what we can get done there. Certainly feel about our start with our personnel, what we've done in free agency, and certainly sitting here with two number ones, you feel good about improving our team. So we're very optimistic about what we can do."
What's next in the Cowboys' pre-draft process
In the last couple weeks, the Cowboys' scouting and coaching staffs have traveled around the country to pro days at different universities in order to get an eye on prospects for the upcoming NFL Draft.
With the combine and all-star games already in the books as well, the current focus is wrapping up the local and 30 visits with prospects at the Star in Frisco, and then getting the entire organization together to get on the same page for when Dallas is on the clock.
"We're going to get in there and roll up our sleeves, and we're going to have great discussion about what we're going to do with those two picks…" Jones said. "When we get Jerry, myself, the coaching staff, the scouts all in one room, that's when we'll really put together a strategy that we feel good about and that can optimize all the skillsets we have in our building."
