DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is nothing if not optimistic.
Even when his team's fans hardly feel the same.
Jones sat down with WFAA's Joe Trahan for his annual one-on-one interview from Cowboys training camp in Oxnard, California, on Sunday night. And despite concerns over the club's lingering contract situations with several star players -- including quarterback Dak Prescott and camp holdout CeeDee Lamb -- and the way the team fell flat on their face in the playoffs last year, Jones still sported his usual sunny demeanor when asked about the Cowboys' chances in 2024.
He even ended the interview in classic Jerry Jones fashion, rubbing his hands together and smiling.
"If Dak can replicate the year he had last year, if CeeDee can replicate the year he had last year ... "Jones said. "But if we can get these young players -- a lot of them didn't play as much as they maybe should have last year but are going to get to play -- and two or three of these draft picks come in, look out, it can happen."
Whether that's what Cowboys fans want to hear or not after another disappointing playoff appearance (a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers at home), Jones remained confident in the team's quiet approach to the offseason. Dallas wasn't as active in free agency as most fans would have hoped, and they've also yet to close deals with Prescott, Lamb and star linebacker Micah Parsons, who will all need lucrative contracts soon.
Jones said the Cowboys are "about there" on a deal with Lamb, who hasn't reported to camp yet.
"And just know we're going to get something done with CeeDee," Jones said. "All in all, as far as his character, his work ethic, his talent level and his production when it's tight, in the clutch, one of the best players we've ever had. We want to get him done, and by the way, he knows that."
Jones was less direct about Prescott. The Cowboys' 31-year-old signal-caller, who's heading into the last year of his contract, sounded at ease with his situation when he talked with reporters last week.
"I want to be here, but when you look up all the great quarterbacks I watched, [they] played for other teams," Prescott said. "So my point in saying that is that's not something to fear. That may be a reality for me one day. It may not be my decision."
When asked about Prescott's looming contract situation Sunday night, Jones said "you've got to be pragmatic at times."
"We have, just like in life, have a very real situation ... you can just get to the point where you run out of room on the cap," Jones said. "Your competition, a lot of them, haven't run out of room because they didn't put the team on the field that we did a few years back. It's an equal playing field. Dak Prescott and the team around him had some of the best-supporting cast in the NFL. We're paying the fiddler for that. Now that's not singing the blues. We can manage through this and that's what we're doing with these contracts."
It's not clear where the Cowboys stand on a potential new deal for Parsons, but the defensive star is at training camp and practicing. Parsons will likely fetch the highest salary among defenders in the league.
Jones on Sunday night made clear one thing: He knows the fans' feeling of ending the Cowboys' Super Bowl drought as much as they do.
"No one has any more appreciation for our fans," Jones said. "They've made us the No. 1 attended team in the NFL. We're the most-watched team in this nation. We're the No. 1 attended team in this nation. You bet I wanna domino for them. I wanna get it done. And I give my everything waking thought to the Cowboys winning and getting a chance to get another Super Bowl."