OXNARD, Calif. – After saying that training camp in Oxnard was a good place to get contract extensions done, Cowboys COO/co-owner backed up his words on Sunday when the team signed tight end Jake Ferguson to a four-year, $52 million extension.
The two sides begun conversations after the spring, with talks intensifying the week before the team left for California, with Sunday being the day that the deal crossed the finish line.
"Jake represents everything we want in terms of football character, what he brings to the table there, along with his talent," Jones said. "No question he had a little off year with the big concussion he had, but what he's done overall here is just what we look for in a Dallas Cowboy."
Each negotiation process is different, and in Ferguson's case, he wanted to get a deal done before heading into the final year of his rookie contract. And the Cowboys were happy to oblige.
"Getting ahead of it, he wants to be here," Jones said on the timing of the deal. "It's like I always say, these negotiations, it takes two. And certainly, he was one who was wanting to get his deal done and finished. We had a similar situation with a tight end a couple years ago where it was tough… but it's good to know we're going to have Jake for five years."
Coaches say all the time that turnovers come in bunches. Could contract extensions come in bunches for the Cowboys following Ferguson?
"They can, we still obviously got a lot going on," Jones said. "You don't really like to talk about them because until they're done. I would've told you [Ferguson's] deal may have gotten done before camp started, but you just got to dot all the I's and cross all the T's, everybody's got to get comfortable, and you go from there."
One of the biggest names for the Cowboys, and the NFL as a whole, that's still hoping to cross that finish line is Micah Parsons. During Saturday's opening ceremony, fans chanted "Pay Micah!" during Jerry Jones' speech to the crowd, and Jones heard it, and shares their sentiment but reiterated that negotiations are a two-way street.
"We want to pay Micah too, he's got to want to be paid." Jones said.
In the meantime, Jones is pleased that Parsons is at least in Oxnard and on the field with his teammates, although they'd rather have him doing what he does best.
"I think Micah's doing great," Jones said. "It means a lot to him to be here with his teammates, hats off to him for that. We want him practicing, you'd rather him out here practicing and doing what he does best which is wrecking practice, but hats off to him."
Through four practices and the first padded practice on Sunday, a number of players, and even celebrations, have caught Jones' eye.
"Who doesn't love Kaiir Elam? I mean, come on, he's grooming future Cowboys fans, that kid will probably have it on his scrapbook for years and years…" Jones said, referencing Elam picking up a child from the crowd after an interception earlier last week. "Kaiir has actually done a hell of a job."
Similarly on the defensive side of the ball, the Cowboys brass has been very impressed with what second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku has showed during his first week of NFL practices, and they feel they got a steal with picking him at 44th overall.
"I give [Aaron] Whitecotton credit, he was on the table for him at 12. He was jumping up and down and saying, 'This guy's a 12th pick, he his, let's get him.' He's done one hell of a job out there."
Without pads on, it's hard to tell a lot about some of the position groups on the roster given how the staff wants to see them handle contact. Still, Dallas' new-look running back room has shown positive flashes in Jones' eyes.
"I think the running backs certainly got the coaches smiling," Jones said. You've got to remember though, we've been out there in shorts and tees. The real football starts today, and that's when you really judge and we'll see how that goes."
With one week of training camp in the books, the Cowboys are looking to continue to have fast, physical practices and ideally, dry some ink on new deals for key players on the roster.
