What Do Cowboys Really Mean By ‘Selective Aggressive’ Free Agency Plan?

Dallas Cowboys fans are still reeling from a "promise'' made a year ago by owner Jerry Jones in which he claimed he was "all in'' on the 2024 NFL season.

Jerry created an impression that Dallas planning to change its passive ways when it comes to talent acquisition ... when of course we now know that he simply meant that the massive contracts he would eventually give to Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb should be taken as a sign of his commitment.

Cowboys Nation still feels burned by Jerry's two-word 2024 projection ...

And is now on shaky ground when it comes to believing son Stephen's freshly-based two-word 2025 projection.

"Selectively aggressive.''

COO Stephen's full statement from Indianapolis, site of the NFL Scouting Combine?

“We’re going to look at everything we can,” Jones said. “We’re going to be selectively aggressive. You have a certain amount of resources they allow you to have, we’ll look at that. But we’re going to improve our football team and we expect to have success next year.”

Is this yet another "bumper-sticker platitude''? A statement as misleading as Stephen's infamous "drought air quotes''? Or, if the Cowboys really mean what they say ...

What exactly are they saying? What does "selectively aggressive'' mean?

Already, via CowboysCountry.com's 1-on-1 visit with Stephen, the franchise is reluctant to admit that it can be as active in the free agency market as it wishes to be due to our detailing (time and time again) that with a couple of switches flicked on contracts, the Cowboys could have up to $100 million in cap space.

Is the Cowboys front office playing possum here by downplaying what it's about to pull off?

What "selectively aggressive'' does not mean is the eventual signing of Micah Parsons. ... though doing it early would be beneficial as that would help Dallas get to that $100 million of room.

Does it mean winning a bidding war for defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who is an impending free agent? That would count, though overpaying for Osa ($20 million per year by some eye-opening projections) might be more exciting that it is wise.

No, what the fan base assumes "selectively aggressive'' means is not only signing their own, but also getting involved in the tug of war for premium talent ... without spending haphazardly. Maybe Dallas isn't a Day 1 or Day 2 player in a shopping spree; maybe it's Tier 2 free agents that fit better here in all ways.

And we would suggest that Cowboys fans, burned by the fibbing and the inactivity of a year ago - the Cowboys let 11 contributing vets walk and replaced them with one starter in Eric Kendricks - would be elated with the boost that the starting lineup could get from a handful of Tier 2 signings.

The start of NFL free agency (March 12) is, as we often put it, when teams buy Lamborghinis at Lamborghini prices .. and it is hard for Dallas to compete when other teams do that while the Joneses don't.

But "selectively aggressive" can mean buying the second finest automobiles on the lot ... at more reasonable prices.

There are cost-effective ways to build a roster with the help of "outside'' free agency, a practice Dallas used to have mastered in the 1990's but one the Cowboys have for the last decade-plus run scared off. (Indeed, we've long argued that there are a handful of paths to add talent, and that a team handicaps itself by not exploring all of them.)

We aren't saying the Cowboys have to sign a Tee Higgins, but more so, do what you say you're going to do.

"Selectively aggressive" can mean a lot of things. ... a lot of good things and multiple moves.

But we don't blame you if you are barely clinging to the hope that it doesn't mean the same meaningless thing that "all in'' proved to mean.