The Dallas Cowboys have work to do this offseason, and owner Jerry Jones has said he is willing to “bust the budget” ahead of the 2026 season.

When Executive Vice President Stephen Jones was questioned about his father’s busting the budget comment. Safe to say that his answer was quite straightforward.

Speaking to reporters, Jones said, "I mean, we want to fix this defense, and we feel really good about the offensive side of the ball now that we got Javonte done, and we know we'll have George back. So, we feel really good about that side of the ball.”

The Cowboys have kicked off the offseason by finalising Javonte Williams' contract. It's a three-year, $24 million contract. Jones has also expressed his desire to put the franchise tag on their wide receiver, George Pickens.

In the 2025 season, the Dallas offense was at the top of its game, with Dak Prescott at the helm. They recorded 391.9 offensive yards on average, ranking No.2 in Total Offense.

Dak Prescott recorded 4,552 passing yards, Javonte Williams recorded 1,201 rushing yards, and wide receivers George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb recorded 1,429 and 1,077 receiving yards, respectively.

Despite this stellar performance from the offense, the defense turned out to be a huge disappointment. Ranking 30th in the league in total defense, the Cowboys allowed a league high 60 touchdowns.

"I think this is, obviously, we spent a lot of time on it already in the offseason, revamping the defensive coaching staff. And now we'll take the next steps, which are to improve the personnel on that side of the ball,” Stephen Jones commented on the defense.

Securing the defense is the key priority for the Cowboys

The new defensive coordinator, Christian Parker, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer are working to fix the defense, which has never been the same since Micah Parsons’ exit.

Parker recently spoke about the Cowboys’ defense strategy for the upcoming season.

"I think the game is definitely won and lost up front, but we want to provide looks that keep the quarterback guessing,” Parker said.

The defensive roster now revolves around Quinnen Williams, Osa Odighizuwa, and Kenny Clark. The Cowboys should shore up some key defensive players in their draft picks to complete the squad.

But whether that is enough to revitalise their defense is yet to be seen.

They might have to look to pick up some key players in free agency, too, and Jones might have to truly “bust the budget” this time.

What do you think about Dallas' offseason plans? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Shyam Hari

Edited by

Kalp Thaker