Cowboys' Jerry Jones on Making Trey Lance Trade: 'I Don't Have to Talk to Anybody'

Jerry Jones is the owner, president and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, and he doesn't have to answer to anyone when it comes to personnel decisions.

That was the case with the team's recent trade for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Jones spoke about that in an interview with 105.3 The Fan (h/t Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk).

"The way we're structured gets a lot of criticism. Unquestionably, it does. But it lets us do a trade like we did the other day on Lance, because I didn't have to fool around. I can make that trade in five minutes. And the reason I can is I have all the information, had it from when we drafted him, I had information right at my fingertips of what we thought of his play in the last couple of years. I knew what we thought of him. I didn't have to visit with anybody about what type of player he is. So I was able to make the call. ... I don't have to talk to anybody about that."

Jones previously commented on the move, per The Athletic's Jon Machota, mentioning that he didn't speak with either head coach Mike McCarthy or quarterback Dak Prescott beforehand.

Lance is currently the Cowboys' third-string quarterback behind Prescott and backup Cooper Rush.

Lance entered the NFL as a highly touted prospect. out of North Dakota State. The 49ers gave up a haul to the Miami Dolphins to go from No. 12 to No. 3 and pick Lance in 2021.

He sat behind starter Jimmy Garoppolo during his rookie season but earned QB1 reins in 2022. However, Lance suffered a fibula fracture and a ligament disruption in Week 2 and missed the remainder of the season.

Brock Purdy took over down the stretch and excelled, and he's earned QB1 honors again in 2023 despite suffering a torn UCL in last year's playoffs. Sam Darnold won the backup job, leaving Lance as QB3 before the Cowboys landed him via trade.

Lance has traveled a rocky road to begin his career, but now he gets a fresh start in Dallas. Although he entered the NFL with great hype, Lance isn't about to threaten for Prescott's job. Prescott is under contract for two more years, and the Cowboys will incur over $47 million in total dead cap money in 2025 and 2026 if he's not on the team past 2024. So the team is tied to Prescott for the future.

Still, not consulting with QB1 before bringing a quarterback in is certainly a choice on Jones' part. He has the right to do that as the team's owner and top personnel man, ultimately, and now the Cowboys go forward in 2023 by starting the season on Sunday at the New York Giants.