Currently in a state Devin Hester Jersey of disarray usually reserved for teams who are teetering on the edge of a rebuild, it doesn't feel like the finished the 2021 season with a 12-5 record. Part of this is because of their abysmal showing against the in their first-round playoff exit, but the rest is because of their personnel choices in 2022 free agency -- e.g., , , -- combined with a sizable dose of controversy, both on and off of the field.Speaking from the NFL's annual meetings in Florida, owner Jerry Jones opted to place aside paternity suits and voyeurism settlements, instead addre sing the team's roster moves in free agency -- skirting the fact there have only been two outside acquisitions in wideout and linebacker .The signing of Washington was a move made out of a nece sity created in trading Cooper to the , and for merely a 2022 fifth-round pick, along with being unable to re-sign Cedrick Wilson (who now joins and in a uniform). But as it relates to Cooper, Jones admits the four-time Pro Bowler can be "great", but didn't view it as having happened consistently enough after signing him to a five-year, $100 million contract two years ago."We had to look hard at the 10 or 11 players who are getting two-thirds of the money," Jones said of the decision to part ways with Cooper, . "We have to make sure every one those players are pulling as much weight as you can because of the economic emphasis. ... At the end of the day, it is a financial allocation toward Nick Kwiatkoski Jersey the talent, and you've got to consider availability, and that sometimes departs from the best route runner." And then came the controversial split with Gregory, something the Cowboys tried desperately to avoid.Having failed to begin negotiations with Gregory until NFL legal tampering began, the Cowboys effectively waved off the inside track on retaining the former second-round pick and instead pitted themselves against multiple teams bidding for his services -- the to poach him away from Dallas. Things imploded after the two sides agreed to terms on the aforementioned five-year deal due to a dispute in contract language after the fact, but before pen touched paper, and it was after a whirlwind few hours of contract controversy.Sources confirmed to CBS Sports that Jones, after having stepped in to close the deal with Gregory before what can only be viewed now as LanguageGate, reached back out to Gregory and his agent in a last-ditch effort to woo them into pivoting back to Dallas. It didn't work, and Jones alleges this time it was he who said no, despite the fact it was he who made the call. "Literally, I was on the phone with Randy and his agent, and I said 'El Paso,' that little West Texas town. I said 'El Paso -- thank you, but no thank you.' And he said 'I'll go ahead and get on the plane,'" said Jones. "So we could Brian Urlacher Jersey have done something there, and they asked if we would do that, and I didn't do it. And I didn't do it of my own volition. ... I want him to have a lot of succe s, except when he's playing the Cowboys."But I'm a fan of Randy's and I was thinking that his best was ahead of him."It's debatable if Jones is attempting to save some type of face in an offseason that's seen it drenched with egg, but the fact of the matter is what's most relevant is the front office's determination -- as of late -- to sell themselves on how quantity is always better than quality."It worked out," team exec Stephen Jones said of signing Fowler, and with money that was originally put on the table for Gregory. "We feel really good about that situation." It bears mentioning that Gregory's cap hit for 2022 would've been only $6 million, while the combined cap hit for all Fowler, Armstrong and LVE is $8.3 million, a tidbit that undermines the supposed salary cap victory Jones is trying to purvey; and regarding a Kyle Long Jersey player the Cowboys did all they could to keep in the building, the language disagreement notwithstanding.The elder Jones mirrors the sentiment regarding quantity, though."We got at least three more top players with what we would have spent there," he said, before vaguely admitting there's a chance it doesn't pan out how they hope it will."It's a call that, we'll just Joel Iyiegbuniwe Jersey see."Losing Gregory to the Broncos, combined with Cooper's trade and the release of starting right tackle La'el Collins, has put/kept tens of millions of dollars in the Cowboys pockets for new signings and re-signings, but while they've mostly done well thus far with the latter, they're severely lacking on the former. And things could have also been precipitously worse, if you can fathom it, had they stuck to their guns in, leading to him asking to be released before ultimately working out a new contract with the club. , the Cowboys will have to ace that test in order to . Otherwise, a pivotal season to come for head coach Mike McCarthy might become his swan song.