After a span stretching parts of three seasons, the Earl Thomas to the Dallas Cowboys saga is finally over. The Cowboys couldn’t work out a trade last season or prior to the 2018 draft, and they could not seal the deal in free agency. Ultimately they lost out to the Baltimore Ravens who were willing to dish out big money to the aging All-Pro safety coming off of a second major leg injury. Earl Thomas has been labelled the ‘Moby Dick” to Jerry Jones’s “Captain Ahab” but he is not the only big fish that Mr. Jones has failed to reel in over the years. Here is a list of the top 5 “White Whales” that have eluded Jerry Jones during his tenure as owner of the Dallas Cowboys.
HONORABLE MENTION: DEION SANDERS CB
In 1994, the rival San Francisco 49ers beat out Jerry Jones and the Cowboys in the Deion Sanders free agent sweepstakes. Sanders won defensive player of the year and helped the Niners defeat the Cowboys in the 94 NFC Championship before they went on to win the Super Bowl. Jerry got the last laugh in 1995 when he signed Sanders to a lucrative free agent deal. The lock down corner was instrumental in leading the Cowboys back to becoming Super Bowl champions in his first season with the team.
5. PAXTON LYNCH/CONNOR COOK QB
In 2016 the Dallas Cowboys were hoping to draft their QB of the future to replace Tony Romo. Twice they tried to trade up to grab one of their targeted pivots and failed. The were outbid by the Denver Broncos for Paxton Lynch in the 1st round and then the Oakland Raiders swooped in to grab Connor Cook right before them in the 4th round. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys ended up settling on a kid named Dak Prescott later in the 4th round. Jerry Jones was full of regret after missing out on Lynch in particular but it ended up working out pretty well for the Dallas Cowboys.
4. JOHNNY MANZIEL QB
Two years before missing out on Lynch, Jerry Jones evidently tried to pull the trigger on another 1st round QB. In the 2014 NFL Draft, Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel fell to the bottom of the 1st round and was available when the Cowboys were on the clock. Several teams passed on the volatile college superstar and Jerry Jones was tempted to roll the dice on Manziel with the 16th overall pick. Luckily for the Cowboys, Stephen Jones and the rest of the Cowboys front office were able to convince Jerry to agree to draft offensive guard Zack Martin instead. Manziel has been out of the league for years and was recently barred from the Canadian Football League as well. Martin has gone on to earn All-Pro honors in every season he has played during his NFL career.
3. NNAMDI ASOMUGHA CB
During the 2011 off season, Nnamdi Asomugha was the top free agent available and Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys were in need of CB help. The Cowboys coveted the 4 time All-Pro and fans were elated when it was reported that they were on the verge of signing him. Unfortunately, their hated rivals the Philadelphia Eagles pulled out the rug from under Jerry Jones and the Cowboys and signed the free agent corner only a few hours later. Although the initial sting of losing out to the Eagles of all teams was painful, the wound healed rather quickly when Asomugha failed to meet expectations and flamed out in Philly.
2. EARL THOMAS FS
The drama that has surrounded Earl Thomas and the Dallas Cowboys has consumed Cowboy fans for the past three seasons. Ever since Thomas approached Jason Garrett asking him to “come get me”, Cowboy fans have been hoping that it would happen. After failing to agree to a trade on three separate occasions last season, it seemed inevitable that the Cowboys would land the star safety as a free agent in 2019. In the end Thomas priced himself out of the Cowboys range and Jerry Jones and co. may have dodged a bullet by avoiding to pay top dollar for an aging asset. Hopefully, Jones doesn’t end up regretting this decision a couple years down the road.
1. RANDY MOSS WR
While the jury is still out on whether or not Jerry Jones will regret not paying Earl Thomas, his biggest regret remains not drafting Randy Moss in 1998. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys fell in love with Moss as a player and had intentions to draft him if he fell within their range but they ultimately backed out due to the character concerns. Randy Moss took that decision personally and made the Cowboys pay for it whenever he took the field against them the rest of his career. Jerry Jones for his part never forgot that mistake and it has impacted his future decisions on drafting Dez Bryant and trading for Joey Galloway, Roy Williams JR, and recently Amari Cooper. If there is but one player that can be labelled “the one that got away”, for Jerry Jones it would be without a doubt Randy Moss.
All data and statistics obtained and verified from https://www.pro-football-reference.com/
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode