FRISCO, TX – Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones has received a lot of attention over Dallas’ decision not to pursue Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry this offseason. After Henry ran for 169 yards on 15 carries and scored two touchdowns against Tampa on Monday night, Jones was again asked about the decision during his weekly radio show with 105.3 The Fan.

“I don’t think we’re playing very good football at all right now, and it goes beyond whether or not we have Derrick Henry,” Jones said. “Derrick Henry is having a career year. I don’t know if he would have a career year in our situation.”

Henry leads the NFL in carries (134), rushing yards (873), and is tied for the most rushing touchdowns (8) through seven games. The Cowboys as a team have 133 carries for 463 yards and two touchdowns this season, with Rico Dowdle leading the team in carries with 59. Clearly, the Ravens and Cowboys plans are different offensively, another part of the reason why Jones isn’t chased him in free agency.

“If (Henry) hadn’t had as many carries as our running backs, he probably wouldn’t have had the level of impact he has now…” Jones said. “He is a good addition to the kind of fouls they make. We don’t do those kinds of fouls at all.”

Perhaps the most crucial reason why Jones decided not to sign Henry was the financial aspect of the deal, especially considering the plans the Cowboys had for the contracts of Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.

“Derrick Henry didn’t fit, mainly because he was managing the cap in anticipation of the players we would sign weeks later,” Jones said. “Or the prospect of the players we would sign in the future.”

There’s nothing the Cowboys can do with Henry right now, so how do Jones and the front office approach the search for a running back that fits what they want to do?

“Has anyone thought about the fact that if you’re going to invest a huge amount of money on a running back, you better plan on running the ball?” Jones said.

Apparently the numbers have shown that the Cowboys aren’t looking to rely on their run game at times this season. Mike McCarthy said in his farewell statement that he wanted to give Rico Dowdle more touches after a career-best day in Pittsburgh a few weeks ago, but the issue comes down to whether or not the play-calling and blocking schemes beforehand are improving the run game. have not promoted. for success.

“The kind of things we all think we need to look at is we’re designing bad plays, or we’re designing bad concepts,” Jones said. “The facts are that there is some of that, but there is also some of the execution.”

Part of the lack of execution from the offensive line, especially the two rookies Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, and the Cowboys as a team, is their large influx of young, inexperienced players, something that Jones recognizes will take some time.

“I love our young talent, but with young talent there are a few more mistakes than with an experienced player,” Jones said. “Although you do have to have young talent.”

The Cowboys will look to find their rhythm on the ground on Sunday night against San Francisco, a defense that has given up 112.9 yards per game on the ground this season.