Oxnard, California —The Dallas Cowboys kicked off training camp with their annual 'State of The Cowboys' press conference, but Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones' opening statement had nothing to do with the team.
"We got it resolved like I wanted," Jerry said. "It was unfortunate but it is resolved."
Earlier this week, Jones went to court in Texarkana, Texas, located about 180 miles east of Dallas, for a paternity case he has been fighting for the past two years. Tuesday, the parties involved reached a settlement, just over 24 hours after it started.
"Of course it was very sensitive with my family and it was very sensitive with the unique publicity that's involved with The Cowboys but it was involved satisfactory for all concerned," Jones said. "I will not be commenting anymore about it but I certainly where I want to be."
Once the elephant in the room was addressed, the conversation quickly pivoted to a 2024 Cowboys team facing a mountain of uncertainty. Cowboys Star receiver CeeDee Lamb did not report to training camp. Instead, he's working out in Houston while attempting to negotiate an extension. Lamb is entering the final year of his rookie contract.
Meanwhile, The Cowboys premier pass rusher, Micah Parsons has expressed his desire for a contract extension.
During Thursday's press conference, Cowboys Executive Vice President, Stephen Jones expressed optimism but said the negotiations with Lamb and Parsons will take time.
"Both of them, rightfully so, believe they should be the highest-paid non-quarterback in the league," Stephen said. "Totally respect that. So very difficult situations that we're trying to work through with them."
What makes this juggling act look more like mission impossible - The Cowboys are also working on a new contract for quarterback, Dak Prescott who's entering the final year of his contract. Stephen acknowledged it is extremely difficult to pay three top tier players, top market money all at once.
Despite all the concerns surrounding the contract of the team's star players, not to mention Head Coach Mike McCarthy is entering the final year of his contract... Jerry insists The Cowboys are still in position to contend for a Super Bowl and made it clear, he is "all in" on this year's team.
"I know we've been talking about what kind of offseason we've had, what kind of season ending we had," Jerry said. "Well the facts are we have 14 Pro Bowlers on this field right now and 12 All Pro's. We have got an outstanding team."
"I'm all in... I'm all in. You narrow it down to where all we are talking about is right now and the next playoff season and that's it for everybody. We're all in... We're all in."
Desmond Purnell
