INDIANAPOLIS 鈥 Heading into the 2026 season, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones knows that there are a number of holes that need to be filled on their roster, especially on defense, if they want to compete for a Super Bowl.
With that comes work to do in free agency, a market that Jones envisions the Cowboys being active in when the new league year begins on March 11.
"I could see us being aggressive in free agency," Jones said. "By the very virtue of having two number ones, we're gonna spend more money in the draft than normally you would spend鈥 I would bet that we will spend more money in free agency than we have."
Jones made clear that he feels the Cowboys are not in a position to wait around, saying "we got to go this year" when it came to personnel decisions, specifically talking about players with injuries/injury concerns in the draft.
"We can't redshirt a second-round pick," Jones said. "We don't have a second-round pick to begin with, but if we got one, we can't redshirt those guys this year. We gotta go鈥 We got to go this year. We got to have it out there, and when we got to be working it this year."
The only way Jones can capitalize on the present is by investing in it, something he's willing to do while sacrificing some aspects of the future.
"The only way to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future鈥" Jones said. "I want to do everything we possibly can to stop somebody and to basically win some third downs more than we did last year. So I think that would be the area that you would see me bust the budget."
Busting the budget is one thing, but where will the Cowboys allocate their resources on defense? For Jones, there's clear-cut top positional need, and it's a matter of trying to plug up multiple needs with the resources they have.
"We need more than one good football player, more than two good football players. Additional," Jones said. "That's not to say everything is about our personnel鈥 If it were just a matter of a few holes, it would be different. That's not the case."
With that in mind, Jones knows the task of finding those multiple good football players is not an easy one.
"It's a big challenge for us to be where we want to be defensively," Jones said. "Now, I don't want to imply that we've got anything set up or are blowing out the candles on the offense, we've got a lot of work to do over there. But this'll be a real big challenge."
"We've got players that are better than they looked that will be playing on our defense this year that were Cowboys. They'll be better than they looked this year, I predict that, because they'll be surrounded by a more positive situation out there."
Who are the current Cowboys players that Jones believes are in line for that better look in 2026?
"I think that [DeMarvion] Overshown will be healthier when we start. I'm not trying to be trite, but I think he will be healthier when we start there. [Shavon] Revel will be healthier when we start. I'm mentioning them because the health issue had a lot to do with them being able to elevate from the way they鈥 totally for the season did last year as opposed to this year." Jones said.
"I think [Donovan Ezeiruaku], I think scheme as well as just his ethics, work ethic, his striving for improvement, and then our evaluation of him as a pass rusher, I think we can look forward to a better year there. We're counting on it, and can have it. I like our move [of Marist Liufau] going outside."
A reference that both Jerry Jones and Cowboys COO/co-owner Stephen Jones have made this week is to the way the Super Bowl LX teams, the Patriots and Seahawks, constructed their rosters. It included a mix of success in the draft as well as investing into the roster via free agency. In doing so, both teams turned things around quickly.
Jones said that he can see the Cowboys making a similar turnaround on defense, although he admitted being one of the better units in the league "may be a stretch." Still, he doesn't believe that Dallas' defense needs to be among the top units in order to win in January and February.
"A defense that could support an offense the way that we played at the level last year, and get us into the playoffs, and give us a chance to get good after we get in the playoffs, I see that defense this year. I do. We don't have to do much to get better." Jones said.
"And I'm not trying to be trite, we just don't have to do much but better, just better, would not get it done, in my mind. We've really got to come out and be sound, and I think we've addressed every phase of it, and I think we're very capable of doing not only better, but playing defense at a level that would get us in the playoffs. I believe that, strongly."
