When the Cowboys signed Dak Prescott to a big contract this offseason, it may have had some unintended consequences for the organization. It’s never a bad thing to lock down your franchise quarterback, they’re the rarest asset in football. However, it also indicates that all your chips are pushed in and sets a hard end date on when your team has to be competitive.
It didn’t surprise anyone, then, when Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was reported to be “infatuated” with former Florida tight end Kyle Pitts. Widely regarded as the best non-quarterback in this draft class, Pitts is a more dangerous receiving threat than most of the traditional wideouts in this draft while also providing the size and blocking ability of a tight end. He’s not just versatile, he’s deadly in all of his roles.
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Although the reporting spurred conversations of a potential trade-up – Pitts has reportedly been in play as high as the fourth overall pick – Jones was dissatisfied with the narrative surrounding his comments and wanted to set the record straight.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said it is “not legitimate” to say he is infatuated with TE Kyle Pitts. Considers that description a “distortion” of his thinking. “We’re not going to spend inordinate value” to trade up for Pitts.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) April 27, 2021
There are a few interesting tidbits to unpack from these quotes. The word “inordinate” is particularly salient, considering it was seemingly intended to pack a punch but still doesn’t give a clear indication of how the Cowboys view Pitts. The amount of “value” that would be “inordinate” to spend on him is relative and completely dependent on the organization’s internal valuation of the tight end position and evaluation of Pitts himself.
Another intriguing detail is that Jones decided to amend his statement only after the team met virtually with Pitts, a meeting that seemed to have gone well based on the information available. Dallas discussed the ex-Gator’s leadership abilities and asked him what he saw as areas for potential improvement in his game. Those are pretty standard questions that should have been straightforward for him to answer, although there were almost certainly other topics broached that we’re just not privy to discovering.
What caused Jones to change his public-facing stance on the topic? We’ll probably never know. Regardless of the reason, though, it would seem to reduce the odds that Pitts will have the silver star emblazoned on his chest in the fall.
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