Jerry Jones watched a winless team run through his defense Thursday night, and he still wasn’t ready to call it the Dallas Cowboys. After a 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones said he’s ready to make another significant move to improve the defensive roster, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic.
“It’s not folding the tents here,” Jones said.
Jerry Jones has spent big on the Cowboys’ defense
Photos by Kevin Jairaj
No one can accuse Jones of standing still. Kenny Clark arrived in the August 2025 trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay. Dallas sent a 2027 first-round pick, a 2026 second-rounder and Mazi Smith to the New York Jets for Quinnen Williams at last year’s deadline, then signed him to a three-year, $105.9 million extension in August. The Cowboys traded a 2027 fourth-round pick for Rashan Gary in March, and last week they sent a 2028 second-rounder and a 2027 sixth-rounder to Pittsburgh for Joey Porter Jr.
Porter didn’t even play Thursday. He was ruled ill before kickoff, and the defense that took the field gave up 241 rushing yards and 419 total yards to an offense led by undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels. Bucky Irving ran for 165 yards on 21 carries.
The pass rush is where another move will be most important. Dallas has five sacks and no interceptions through five games, and is allowing 168.4 rushing yards per game, with four of five opponents topping 160. Gary entered the week with 12 pressures but one sack, according to PFF. Athlon looked at edge rusher options before the deadline.
Jones echoed the same tone earlier in the week, telling 105.3 The Fan that the door is “always open” to get better. The difference now is a 2-3 record, a nine-day layoff and a defense under first-year coordinator Christian Parker that has given up at least 378 yards to every opponent. Whatever Jones has in mind, he has until Nov. 10 to do this.
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