Another key player, and another big contract done in the shadows for the Cowboys.
One of the biggest irritations for Dallas Cowboys fans over the years has been how the franchise approached its big-money-contract extensions.
You know the Jerry Jones drill, as he and his front office often ended up digging in their heels, speaking openly on not wanting to pay huge amounts of money, letting talks drag out, then engaging in verbal jousts in public ...
Only to end up paying the exact same "big money'' many expected would be paid in the first place.
In fact, Dallas often ended up paying more than it would have had the Joneses sealed deals in a more progresssive fashion.
Dak Prescott got his record-setting $60 million APY deal done the morning of the first game of the 2024 season-opener. CeeDee Lamb held out all of training camp before getting his $34 million APY contract that summer. And last summer, the Micah Parsons contract argument became so messy that the final solution was to trade him away.
Those seem typical of the Cowboys contract-talk methods and results.
But this offseason, the winds of change have blown through The Star, and the entire franchise has altered its approach to player extensions.
No more talks being played out in the public eye. No more nasty back-and-forth barbs. No more anything, for the most part, other than pen to paper.
The Cowboys front office - so often driven by Jerry's outspokenness - has been largely radio silent while working in the shadows to get deals done.
This series of new deals have been executed quickly and quietly, expensively but efficiently, and most importantly, there's been zero drama surrounding them.
This offseason, Tyler Smith became the highest-paid interior lineman in NFL history, and Brandon Aubrey became the same as a kicker. Javonte Williams was retained. Jake Ferguson was extended. DaRon Bland was extended.
And yes, George Pickens counts as a signing, too, with his $27.3 million one-year tag deal.
And now comes news of the Quinnen Williams' extension, a $35 million-per-year pact that puts him in the top two all-time at his position. (Key sidebar: The Williams deal will open up cap room for another 2026 move ... and does nothing to preclude Dallas from signing Pickens next offseason, with COO Stephen Jones actually saying this week that doing so is "the ultimate goal.'')
All of them have a lot in common -- they were done with ruthless efficiency and amid almost complete silence. ... A far different mode of operation than in previous seasons.
The intentionality that the franchise has acted regarding contracts has been noticeable and lauded by many.
For a Jerry-led organization that is very open about how it thrives on drama in ways that put the Cowboys "above the fold" daily, this offseason has been a shocker.
Jones turns 84 in October. Has this old dog learned a new-and-improved trick?
I often say, "Sometimes Jerry Jones' Dallas Cowboys seem like a marketing company that plays football on the side.''
That criticism has become somewhat of a "thing.''
But in this offseason, as it relates to coaching hires, roster moves and contracts? Football hasn't appeared to be Jerry's side business.
Instead, the main thing has been the main thing. ... with Cowboys Nation wondering positively if a change in the way Jerry Jones conducts his business might mean a change in the franchise's infamous "30-Year Drought.''
