ARLINGTON, Texas – There haven't been a lot of players Jerry Jones has directly met with in terms of a contract negotiation.
The two that come to Jones' mind first are two players that are in the Ring of Honor. In fact, they're both in the Hall of Fame and to get real technical about it – Jerry Jones presented both of them for their induction speeches.
That was Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. It obviously worked out rather well for all parties involved in those situations.
Maybe that's why Jones is taking a more hands-on approach with the negotiations for Dez Bryant. Talk around Valley Ranch is that a deal is nearing, especially with Bryant saying this week he doesn't want to negotiate during the regular season if a deal isn't done between now and then.
Jones wouldn't speculate on the details, other than his lengthy meetings with the star receiver.
"I wouldn't want to evaluate progress," Jones said Thursday night after the Broncos game. "We've visited a couple of days. He and I spent about an hour before the luncheon visiting. We've had good visits. It's a little different for me to be talking directly with a player. I know of two that I talked directly with in some pretty sensitive areas when you're talking about money. One was Michael Irvin and another was Emmitt Smith. Dez and I have been visiting for years, regarding [embedded_ad] things."
Jones wouldn't go as far to say it's close, but sounded optimistic it'll get done and both sides will be satisfied.
"Certainly, I don't mean to say anything is a given or easy," Jones said. "I do want what's in his best interest and I do want him to be a long-term player for the Cowboys. He knows that. I'm proud of the progress he's made and we're going to see if we can make this work for everybody."
