NFL Rumors: Giants Among Teams 'Scouting the Sun' Before Games at Cowboys' Stadium

The sun has been a surprising subplot of the 2024 NFL season, in particular at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, AT&T Stadium, where the glare of the sun coming into the stadium has made it difficult for players to see at times.

So much so that the New York Giants have literally made studying Sol a part of their preparations before Thursday's Thanksgiving matchup between the teams.

According to ESPN's Kalyn Kahler, "the Giants and others within the league, including the Cowboys themselves, spend time scouting the sun in Arlington. The nature of the scouting reports vary, the data on the impact of the light streaming through those Arlington windows is open to interpretation. But plenty of people around the league will tell you that the sun at A&T Stadium... yes, it's a thing."

There's little doubt the sunshine streaming through the stadium, perfectly on the path of the stadium during day games, has affected players. CeeDee Lamb told reporters he couldn't see a pass in the end zone that went right between him and Jake Ferguson—also seemingly blinded—during a November loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

"I couldn't see the ball," he said. "The sun."

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce offered his own take on the matter.

"That f--king glare coming through that end zone in the afternoon is f--king ridiculous," he said on his New Heights podcast with brother Jason Kelce earlier in November. "Absolutely ridiculous. It's like the [stadium's giant glass panels] makes it f--king like spread more. It's like the sun is bigger and brighter than it's ever f--king been."

Former Cowboys wideout Brice Butler told Kahler he spoke to the team's executive vice president, Stephen Jones, about the sun being a major issue all the way back in 2017. Nothing has changed.

The stubbornness of team owner Jerry Jones has been one of the prevailing storylines in a disastrous season for the 4-7 Cowboys. Outside of the team not addressing huge needs in the offseason like the running back position or putting off extensions for Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb until the last minute, a number of former players have also suggested that the constant stadium tours, leading fans through the team's facilities, offer players with little privacy while they work out and serve as something of a distraction.

But don't expect Jones to change. A logical suggestion like putting up curtains to block some of the glare earned a derisive response from the team owner.

"Let's just tear the damn stadium down and build another one," he told reporters. "Are you kidding me?"

And as for the tours, he's not only disinterested in ending them, he wants to make them even bigger.

"I'd love to see cameras in the tour going to 20 million people while the people were making the tours and hearing the same thing," he told Kahler. "And then while they're coming down the hall, I'd love to see a coach talking to a player as he walked away from a meeting, talking about a player walking right through."

The Cowboys, it should be noted, haven't won a Super Bowl since the 1995 season. Perhaps the team owner's unwillingness to acknowledge some of the legitimate gripes of his players, and adjust accordingly, has played some part in what is now nearing a 30-year drought.