Dan Quinn clowns Cowboys with genius signing after brutal Kaiir Elam trade
You have to give the Dallas Cowboys credit for one thing: they have been selectively aggressive since the start of the legal tampering period.
The “aggression” really entered the picture on Wednesday when Dallas signed former Bears linebacker Jack Sanbown, who will reunite with Matt Eberflus.
Sanborn is comfortably the best move the team has made this offseason, but the front office wasted no time raining on that parade when it traded for a pair of first-round busts: cornerback Kaiir Elam, who comes over from Buffalo, and LB Kenneth Murray Jr., formerly of the Titans.
The Murray trade in particular has really drawn the ire of Cowboys fans. He is among the worst linebackers in the NFL defending the run. That said, taking a flier on Elam is just as questionable after his nightmarish Bills tenure.
While Dallas was busy acquiring first-round busts, Dan Quinn and the Commanders signed longtime Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones in one of the better moves of free agency day three.
Dan Quinn signing Jonathan Jones makes Cowboys’ Kaiir Elam trade look so much worse
Jones is a fantastic signing all-around for the Commanders.
A former undrafted free agent, Jones is one of the more under appreciated Patriots of the last decade. He arrived as an undrafted free agent in 2016 and leaves a two-time Super Bowl champ and one of the team’s best defensive backs of the last decade.
Jones is a significant upgrade for Washington’s secondary, which was very generous against the pass last season. The Commanders just released Benjamin St-Juste, who started 45 games the last four seasons, and likely won’t bring back veteran Michael Davis.
Jones has the ability to play inside and out. He played 422 snaps out wide last season compared to 139 in the slot, per Pro Football Focus. He also packs a punch against the run and rarely misses an open-field tackle. He’s a smaller cornerback like Jourdan Lewis, but plays with a similar bulldog mentality that made him a prominent leader in the Patriots’ locker room.
The terms of Jones’ contract have not been revealed as of this writing, but we’re hard-pressed to think it’s a lofty salary given he’ll turn 32 in September. Even so, it’s a one-year deal so Washington isn’t committed to Jones beyond next season.
This is the kind of signing you would like to see Dallas make. Instead, they are trading a bunch of day three picks for first-round reclamation projects. Thus, the difference between a serious and an unserious organization.