Dallas Cowboys: Jerry Jones family accident update | wfaa.com

DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones likened the impact on his family's vehicle to a "small explosion" that "busted all the frame" and left it totaled outside of Levi's Stadium before the 49ers game Sunday night.

Jones shared the update in his weekly radio interview with "Shan & RJ" on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas.

The pregame incident happened as a Jones family vehicle was heading into the stadium and encountered a rising barricade that badly damaged the vehicle.

Jones himself wasn't in the vehicle, but his daughter, Charlotte Jones, his son, Jerry Jones Jr., and his grandson, Shy Anderson Jr., were.

All three were checked out by medical personnel at the stadium and attended Sunday night's game.

Jerry Jones described the incident as bit more than a fender bender. He said the rising barricade is designed as a security measure near "high-profile" events and locations, like NFL stadiums, and can "stop a vehicle in its tracks." For some reason, the barricade was triggered by the vehicle the Jones family was riding in.

"In this case, the car was totaled," Jones told the "Shan & RJ" show. "Busted all the frame, everything. It's a tremendous force, like if a small explosion had gone off under there. Tremendous. And those were the things that created the injuries."

Jerry Jones Jr. suffered a concussion but was feeling better by Tuesday, his father said. Charlotte Jones "wasn't feeling as good as she hoped" on Monday and Tuesday, Jerry Jones said.

Jones also addressed the loss to the San Francisco 49ers that dropped Dallas to 3-4 on the year, what the Cowboys can do going forward, and his team’s emotional state.

Listen to the full interview on The Fan here.

“We knew we were going out there to play a really, really good team,” said the team’s owner. “Basically, I wish we could eliminate the third quarter; there were parts of that game I really liked what we were doing under the circumstances. Like the way we came back near the end of the ball game.”

The owner lamented the missed opportunity with the last-minute pass that wide receiver KaVontae Turpin couldn’t bring in that would’ve given the Cowboys a better chance at winning.

There was little doubt that Jones would talk about the team’s ability to mount a comeback and make it close as a positive. Moral victories are a real thing for an owner who has little else to cling to this season.

The problem with this outcome, Jerry can talk about how his team competed. Ignoring the huge holes & massive disadvantage he put his team in.

“The facts are that our communication in our offensive line, we can improve on, “Jones explained. “I like our players, but our communication is critical. Defensively, I really do see we’ve got the players and should hopefully have one or two of them back here against Atlanta. And I have a lot of faith in these players, and faith in these coaches.”

Jones continued about how he believes that after being around the coaches, they’ve got the ability to fix the mistakes, much of which are communication issues. He reiterated the injured players coming back are a reason to believe the Cowboys can turn around a rough start.

That’s Jones’ eternal optimism coming through, where it appears that hope is now the plan for Dallas for a team that hasn’t shown to be nearly good enough. The injured players coming back will help, but it’s hard to see how it turns this season around when there are issues seemingly everywhere.

“You really don't want to see him really take off with that ball. These quarterbacks that run, you know they're going to get injured. And that happens. It happens to the youngest, it happens to the best. It has happened to Dak. As we rely on him to stay healthy, it’s important,” Jones admitted.

“I wouldn't say it's up there in red letters in the practice facility, 'Don't run.' But I would say that we want him to be smart about it, and he is being smart about it. However, he will [run] when he sees the opportunity.”

Jones spoke of wanting Prescott to use his arm to get the ball outside, stating that he doesn’t want his franchise player to take the hits that comes with tucking the ball and running. However, that’s a major red flag in the offensive game plan, and something defenses now know that they can ignore.

Even the threat of Prescott’s mobility opens things for the offense, and that cannot be overstated. Without the threat of him running, the offense is easier to defend. Jones all but admits that they don’t want Prescott to run because of the financial risk of not having their $60 million player on the field, essentially limiting the team before they take the field.

“I’ve always looked at the dollars we spend as scholarships. You give a player five scholarships, you give another player one scholarship. The more guys you can have out there with one scholarship the better, because of attrition,” said Jones.

Our game is built in a way that you’re gonna lose [players] and you gotta have people behind them to play. When you give a lot of scholarships to one player, then that’s less you got to give to another player. And we’re seeing the impact that can have, it’s your depth.”

The GM also said the depth on the Cowboys is young, which means more mistakes. Youth means less ability to communicate. So with the depth impacted, Jones was asked if he ever has buyer’s remorse.

“No, no, not at all,” Jones assured. “Yesterday is as dead as Napoleon. It’s today, right now, and going forward, always going forward.”

The theory is valid, but it remains to be seen if Jones puts that to the test with the trade deadline coming up. The Cowboys don’t have to look back, but if they’re looking forward, they have an opportunity to be sellers at the trade deadline.

Simply put, the 2024 team isn’t good enough to go where Jones is always promising and if they can add draft capital by trading some veteran players, that would be the best way forward. Jerry and Stephen Jones like to build through the draft and trading away players in a lost season would be a way to get the most help and bolster the depth.

“It’s spontaneous, you can’t fake that. These guys have a lot on the line, even the ones that weren’t in the game. They’re very involved. Everybody has their own way of dealing with it. You can show frustration. Frustration manifests itself in a lot of ways,” Jones said.

“For me, in a tight time, seeing emotion, coupled with doing something about it, that is a big deal. It’s an emotional game. When I see that kind of frustration, I don’t look at it negatively…believe you me, these players today are so involved in social media that they hear everything that’s whispered. They’re very sensitive. You can shut this stuff out when you want to.”

The owner went on to compliment the media, saying the 105.3 The Fan hosts do a great job asking questions that are fair game. Jones said the media represents the fans, that’s how it works.

Jones also responded to the interaction between cornerback Trevon Diggs and WFAA’s Mike Leslie, asking if that frustration meant that the focus might not be on the field.

“Not at all. Their focus is on being disappointed that they didn’t make a play. They’re more aware than anybody about what they might not have done.”

In the end, Jones wasn’t alarmed by Diggs’ manifestation of emotion. “We all realize that we need to, if you will, bite your lip where you need to.”

Do you agree with Jerry Jones that the Cowboys have the personnel to rebound from their 3-4 start? Share your thoughts with Ben on X (formerly Twitter) @BenGrimaldi.

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