Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones Highlight Positive Outlook Ahead Of Training Camp

The Dallas Cowboys typically arrive at training camp with some sort of off-field drama swirling around the team, often in the form of a high-profile contract dispute, but there are no such issues this year going into their traditional Southern California sojourn.

It isn’t by design, according to Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones, but the 83-year-old football maverick will take the appearance of calm over the alternative.

"I don’t believe it makes one iota worth of difference on whether or not we block the guy or go off tackle, but I do like the perception that we’ve had a quite uneventful offseason, and let’s see how we can work in that," Jones said Tuesday at his annual precamp news conference.

Compared with a year ago when the stalemate with standout defensive end Micah Parsons over a contract extension quickly devolved into a contentious hold-in and eventually culminated in his shocking trade to the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys appear to have no financial concerns threatening to overshadow or undermine their on-field work over the next three-plus weeks. 

Instead, the main focus will be on shaping an overhauled defensive roster under a new coaching staff into a unit capable of helping head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s dynamic offense.

The urgency to address that side of the ball, Jones said, is where the narrative of a calm offseason ends.

"We’ve had a lot going on, and we’ve had to really scramble a lot," he said. "The kind of stuff you don’t see, but that should be that way. It’s supposed to be hard."

The Cowboys hired Christian Parker from the division rival Philadelphia Eagles in January as their defensive coordinator, tasking the 34-year-old secondary specialist with fixing a defense that gave up the