According to Ed Werder of ESPN.com – who must have a little cot set up at Valley Ranch – the Cowboys are considering releasing receiver Terrell Owens so that the team will have better chemistry in the locker room next season.
“I think we all know that chemistry is the problem with this team more than the schemes or anything else,” a Cowboys source said. “Are we going to continue to allow talent to outweigh everything else in the decisions we make with players and putting the roster together? We’re like the Redskins used to be when they signed every player they wanted. There’s more to it than talent. It has to be more about the team.
“The big one [Owens] didn’t get discussed yet, but I’m sure it will and real hard.”
The Cowboys released twice-suspended cornerback Pacman Jones last week and Tank Johnson is expected to depart through free agency. Both decisions are at least partly related to the renewed emphasis on creating a different atmosphere in the locker room. The Cowboys began their ill-fated 2008 season with three players on the roster who had been suspended by the league or their previous teams — Jones, Johnson and Owens.
At least two sources believe that vice president Stephen Jones will attempt to convince his father that Owens should be finished with the Cowboys. But Jerry Jones just last year invested a $12 million signing bonus in Owens, which means there would be salary-cap fallout. In fact, Jerry Jones has suggested that there might be enough damage that the team would find it difficult to sign NFL sack leader DeMarcus Ware to a new contract.
“I think some of people want to just cut our losses and get rid of all those guys … T.O., Tank, Pacman,” another Cowboys source said. “But I really think Jerry likes the thrill of trying to make it all work.”
After what happened at the end of the season with the Tony Romo/Jason Witten/Terrell Owens saga, some people (mainly Owens) will read this and say, “There’s that Ed Werder again – making sh*t up.”
But think about it, Werder is in Dallas 24/7 reporting on the Cowboys for ESPN. I swear the guy is required to sleep on site just in case any story breaks and it’s not like he can go around stirring the pot with fictional stories because then nobody would talk to him. So anyone that thinks this is just Werder trying to get a quick headline needs to get a grip.
The possibility of Jerry Jones wanting to change the culture in the locker room is very real. He has a new stadium ready to open and despite having some of the best talent in the league every year, the Cowboys never win. If Jones really wants to make a change, parting with Owens might be the first step. It’ll be interesting to see how this story develops this offseason.
“You and I both know that the one [player] you’re asking about all the time, if I gave you the answer that you want to hear, then you would have already had it,” Jones said. “So the fact you don’t have it ought to tell you something.”
