NFL Responds To Jerry Jones
- Recently, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that he was backing down from his lawsuit threat against the NFL because the league promised to “get input from all the owners” on Roger Goodell‘s new deal, rather than leaving it up to just the Compensation Committee. No such deal has been made, however, according to NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart. Lockhart reiterated that the six-man committee has the sole power to approve an extension for the commissioner (link via PFT).
Darren McFadden Announces Retirement
Darren McFadden is calling it a career. The former Cowboys running back announced his retirement from football on Tuesday afternoon. 
“Today, I am announcing that I am retiring from the NFL. I have been extremely privileged to play in the league for a long time,” McFadden wrote. “And now that time for me is done.”
McFadden, 30, was waived by the Cowboys over the weekend. It was reportedly a mutual decision. At the time, it seemed like McFadden might seek work elsewhere, but has decided to walk away from the game instead. In theory, McFadden was free to sign with any team after passing through the post trade deadline waivers.
The running back first broke into the league as the No. 4 overall pick in the 2008 draft. While he showed flashes of serious potential, injuries hampered him in Oakland. His best Raiders season came in 2010 when he ran for 1,157 yards plus 507 yards receiving.
McFadden had a late career re-emergence with Dallas, eclipsing 1,000 yards in 2015. Unfortunately, he lost most of 2016 to injury and didn’t see much action this year. His 2017 season ends after one game played with one rushing attempt for negative two yards. Some expected McFadden to get back into the fold after Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension, but that never came to fruition.
McFadden’s career ends with 5,421 yards rushing, at an average of 4.2 yards per attempt, and 28 rushing touchdowns. He also had 2,114 yards receiving and five TDs through the air.
We here at Pro Football Rumors wish McFadden the best in retirement.
Cowboys Could Makes Changes To Safety Positions
- The Cowboys have waived Darren McFadden, and Ed Werder names the Seahawks as a potential fit for the former first-round pick (Twitter link). As Werder observes, Seattle is the only ream in the league without a running back that has rushed for 250 or more yards, making a McFadden-Seahawks marriage eminently plausible.
- In addition to shakeups at cornerback and the rest of their roster, the Cowboys are looking at potential changes to their safety positions as well, as Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram tweets.
Cowboys Players Frustrated, Team To Make Several Moves
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link), while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has publicly supported head coach Jason Garrett and his staff, the players themselves are not so supportive. Last year’s NFC East champions are just 5-6 and are mired in a three-game losing streak during which they have looked lethargic and mediocre, and the players are frustrated that the coaching staff has not made proper adjustments to help resolve their issues.
For instance, Rapoport says players are angry that the coaching staff did not provide Chaz Green with enough blocking support when he filled in for injured left tackle Tyron Smith, and they are generally frustrated with the vanilla schemes on both sides of the football.
Some changes, though, are being made. We learned earlier today that the team elected to waive running back Darren McFadden, and Rapoport say Dallas also plans to bench cornerback Anthony Brown.
The team also plans to bolster its defensive line by signing veteran Datone Jones, as Todd Archer of ESPN.com writes. Jones, who was recently cut by the 49ers, is expected to ink a two-year deal with the Cowboys tomorrow. Jones is a former first-round selection who has already been a part of three organizations this year (the Vikings, Lions, and 49ers), though he only saw game action with San Francisco. He recorded six tackles in three games and offers help as a rotational piece.
Archer also reports that the Cowboys will release kicker Mike Nugent and will promote running back Trey Williams from the practice squad to take McFadden’s place on the roster.
The above transactions, however, are minor moves that are not likely to ease the tension that Rapoport says permeates the locker room. Indeed, as Clarence Hill, Jr. of the Star-Telegram tweets, the team is not making any play-calling or coaching changes.
Cowboys To Waive Darren McFadden
The Cowboys are going to waive RB Darren McFadden, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Twitter). Rapoport and Todd Archer of ESPN.com note that the decision is a mutual one.
McFadden, now 30, has appeared in only one game for Dallas this season, rushing one time for negative two yards. Even in the wake of Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension, he has not been able to get on the field, as Alfred Morris has jumped to the top of the depth chart and Rod Smith has served as Morris’ backup.
McFadden rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2015, his first year in Dallas, but he lost much of the 2016 season due to injury and was brought back for 2017 on a minimum salary benefit deal worth $980K. The Arkansas product, whom the Raiders drafted with the fourth-overall selection of the 2008 draft, has been plagued by injury for much of his career, and he therefore never really lived up to his enormous potential. He did post 1,157 rushing yards for Oakland in 2010 — to go along with 507 receiving yards — but outside of 2015, that was the only time he topped 1,000 rushing yards in his 10 years in the league.
As Rapoport notes, however, McFadden could be a useful piece for a contending club, as he should certainly be fresh down the stretch. If McFadden goes unclaimed on waivers, he will be free to sign with any team.
Jones Wants Input From Owners On Goodell
Though Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has relented on his threat to sue the NFL, the Cowboys owner is not giving up his battle against commissioner Roger Goodell just yet, Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams writes. 
Though the six-member Compensation Committee voted unanimously to extend Goodell, Jones expects all owners to have input on the decision when they convene at an owners-only meeting in Irving, Texas on Dec. 13. “I just want to say that we really have had, are having a lot of owner participation. So that’s a part of it,” Jones said. “It doesn’t mean at all that we’re not really pursing what we want to get done, and that is have the owners in a very positive way give input and make everyone, including ourselves, accountable.”
Pro Football Talk also reported earlier in the week that Jones will seek a secret ballot in regards to Goodell’s contract. Even if Jones receives the secret ballot, which requires a majority of 17 owners to trigger, he is facing an uphill battle. After the ballot is triggered, 75 percent of the 32 votes are needed to rescind the decision.
Regardless the outcome, Jones doesn’t seem likely to give up the fight anytime soon.
Jerry Jones Says Jason Garrett’s Job Is Safe
Mired in a season-defining swoon since Ezekiel Elliott‘s suspension went into effect, the Cowboys are on the verge of slinking out of the NFC race. It would mark the fifth time in Jason Garrett‘s seven seasons the team missed the playoffs.
But Jerry Jones did not mince words when asked about his head coach’s job security. The owner said the HC spot is not being evaluated despite the three consecutive blowout losses — two of those on national television.
“Again, I don’t step out of the dressing room and evaluate the coaching position at all,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). “Candidly, and I don’t even want to say it so that somebody might repeat it. Absolutely not.”
Jones had a closed-door meeting with the team after its 28-6 loss to the Chargers
Garrett is the longest-tenured coach in Jones’ 28-year tenure running the franchise, having taken over during the 2010 season. He’s 63-52 in charge of the Cowboys. Wade Phillips received 3 1/2 seasons despite two of those ending in the playoffs. Jimmy Johnson coached five, although that run would have obviously been extended based solely on the team’s on-field performance.
Garrett’s teams, though, have won more playoff games (two) than any Cowboys coach since Barry Switzer. And they finished with fewer than eight wins in a season just once, the 2015 slate when Tony Romo went down, under Garrett’s guidance.
While Garrett’s status could certainly change if this run of routs persists, the eighth-year Dallas coach looks to be safe from a late-season firing.
Zack Martin Enters Concussion Protocol
The Cowboys will be playing at least the rest of this game and possibly more without the services of maybe the best guard in football. Zack Martin is now in concussion protocol.
Longtime backup Joe Looney replaced the All-Pro right guard in the lineup. Martin left the game in the second quarter. The fourth-year interior stalwart has never missed an NFL game.
This comes just as Tyron Smith returned to the lineup after a two-game absence. The Cowboys, who rode to the NFC’s No. 1 seed last season behind Ezekiel Elliott and a bulldozing offense line, are now reeling after injuries, departures and a suspension depleted that unit.
Martin does not have the usual 10-day recovery period following a Thursday game. The Cowboys face the Redskins next Thursday.
Dallas is down 16-0 in the fourth quarter and in danger of falling 1.5 games off the wild-card pace in the NFC with a loss to Los Angeles.
Jerry Jones Responds To Recent Reports
Some notable reporting came out of Dallas last week detailing the escalating rift between Jerry Jones and Roger Goodell. Being the most accessible owner in the game, Jones commented on his motivations Tuesday.
A group of other owners believe Jones’ crusade against the commissioner is entirely based upon Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game suspension. Jones maintains it’s about holding Goodell accountable rather than revenge for the commissioner suspending his star running back.
“The commissioner has a right to change his mind,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan (via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram). ”He’s got a right to say one thing one day and say another thing the next day. He can sleep on it. All of those things happen. But the commissioner is very powerful and probably in the most powerful position relative to his constituency that there it is in anything. Well, all owners should be holding the commissioner accountable in my view. That’s the gist of this thing.”
ESPN reporters Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham reported Jones threatened Goodell over the phone with the kind of response Robert Kraft did not bring in the Deflategate saga. Jones did not agree with the account that this one-man offensive against Goodell and the NFL has to do with him confidently saying Elliott was in the clear when he wasn’t.
“Let me just say this because the interpretation is that I got out over my skis and consequently I got embarrassed because I said nothing was going to happen. That’s just not right. Let’s just go to the meat of it and let’s just carry it on back. There was rationale. There was precedent. There were all kinds of things that would have influenced the commissioner’s decision there.
“Now that’s the thing that ought to be looked at, not Zeke’s situation, but the entire way Zeke’s and the philosophy and everything behind Zeke business.”
Jones wants each of the 32 owners to have a say in Goodell’s next contract, rather than just the six-man compensation committee — from which he’s been removed after coming aboard as an additional member. Of course, other owners are now on board with Jones being sanctioned for his recent actions — which have included the threat of a lawsuit against the NFL. So it’s uncertain at this point how much clout the powerful owner has regarding this issue he’s raised.
Owners In Favor Of NFL Punishing Jerry Jones?
The Jerry Jones–Roger Goodell feud is starting to look more like the Cowboys owner is taking on the majority of his peers.
Other NFL owners are expressing a strong sentiment toward the NFL taking disciplinary action against Jones, Mark Maske of the Washington Post reports. While it’s uncertain how many owners are behind this, Maske reports some of the league’s most influential owners are in favor of Jones discipline.
Jones has threatened to sue the NFL because of, cosmetically speaking, Goodell’s contract. However, many owners are upset at the brash decision-maker for making his grievances public. And these owners, Maske reports, believe Jones’ actions are solely tied to Ezekiel Elliott‘s six-game suspension, which the running back is now serving at an inopportune time for the Cowboys.
“Roger will be extended, and Jerry will be dealt with,” a person familiar with the owners’ sentiments said, via Maske, before adding “It depends on how far (Jones) goes,” regarding what kind of discipline will be levied.
Said punishment would ultimately come from Goodell and the owners’ management council executive committee. Jones has already been removed from the compensation committee.
The owners do not support Jones being forced to sell the Cowboys and view it as unrealistic, but a fine, suspension or the Cowboys losing draft picks would be in play in this scenario, Maske notes. Some explosive dialogue on Jones’ behalf was reported to have occurred recently, with ESPN.com’s Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham reporting Jones threatened Goodell during a phone call.
“I’m gonna come after you with everything I have,” Jones said, via the ESPN tandem. “If you think [Patriots owner] Bob Kraft came after you hard [over Deflategate], Bob Kraft is a p—y compared to what I’m going to do.”
Jones is attempting to block a through-2024 Goodell extension, but Van Natta Jr. and Wickersham’s report indicates the owners’ actions are more about a power struggle than Jones taking issue with the commissioner’s contract.
The next set of owners’ meetings are set for Dec. 12-13 in Dallas, and Maske notes Goodell’s extension could be completed by then. Owners voted 32-0 in favor of a new Goodell deal to be authorized earlier this year. Upon the extension being completed, the league is not planning another ratification vote despite Jones’ wishes.