Are Jerry Jones, Cowboys right? There’s no urgency to add veteran wide receiver

Disregard owner Jerry Jones and the team’s point of view. The receiver position was one of the biggest unknowns for the Dallas Cowboys coming into training camp.

After trading Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns, losing Cedrick Wilson in free agency to the Miami Dolphins and having Michael Gallup sidelined for possibly the first month of the season rehabbing from a torn ACL, the wide receiver position has gone from the strength of the team before 2021 to its biggest question mark.

And that was before James Washington, who signed a one-year, make-good contract to give the team a veteran option in the room. Then on Monday, Washington fractured a foot, sidelining him for up to 10 weeks.

There are no concerns about new No. 1 option, CeeDee Lamb, a 2020 first-round pick who led the Cowboys in catches and yards last year.

But he is the only healthy receiver left on the roster with a career touchdown reception.

While the Cowboys have high hopes for rookie third-round pick Jalen Tolbert, he leads a host of unproven and unknown performers who fill out the rest of the team’s receiver corps (including special teams maven Noah Brown, T.J. Vasher, Simi Fehoko, KaVontae Turpin and Dennis Houston).

Of that group, Brown is only one who has caught a pass in the NFL. He has 39, including a career-high 16 in 2021.

And it was two rookies — Houston, an undrafted free agent from Western Illinois, and Tolbert — who lined up most alongside Lamb during a rough Tuesday practice for quarterback Dak Prescott and the first-team offense.

“Based on who we had last year and based on experience, it’s clearly a big drop off,” coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged. “But that’s all part of development.”

The question is what are the Cowboys going to do now at receiver?

Per Jones, the Cowboys are going to let things ride for now and see what they have with the young receivers before possibly making a move.

He said he is “plenty satisfied and there is no urgency looking for a veteran receiver.”

“Let’s give these guys the incentive,” Jones said. “We thought highly of them when they came out. We will get James rehabbed and looking forward to having him the latter part of the year. For the time, it doesn’t create urgency for us. We like these young guys. With what they have shown, I’m satisfied with what we are going to do here. There is no urgency for a veteran receiver.”

The last time the Cowboys entered a season this thin at receiver was in 2018, after the departure of Dez Bryant following the 2017 season. Allen Hurns, Cole Beasley, Tavon Austin, Terence Williams and Deonte Thompson struggles forced ownership to trade a first-round pick for Cooper halfway through the season.

Cooper’s addition directly corresponds to Dak Prescott’s rise as a franchise quarterback.

The 2022 situation is not as desperate because of the presence of Lamb who was expected to elevate to the top spot as a member of the legacy No. 88 club.

And there is the plan to use running back Tony Pollard as a slot receiver, the presence of tight end Dalton Schultz as Prescott’s most trusted receiver and the potential return of Gallup. Thus, Jones says it all mitigates the need to add a veteran receiver.

Another factor is the lack of impact options in free agency.

Among the possibilities are veterans of Emmanuel Sanders, Will Fuller and T.Y. Hilton.

It doesn’t look like the Cowboys aren’t going to pull any of those levers until close to the start of the season.

And they may wait until final cuts to address the hole on the roster, if at all.

The preference is to find a deep threat to take the top off the defense.

One player the Cowboys need to stay away from is former Pro Bowler Antonio Brown, who famously walked off the field during a game with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last season and seemingly ended his NFL career.

He has now turned to a career as a rapper. In the spring, Brown pointed to the Cowboys as a potential place to revive his career.

Jones likes attention and headlines, but this one is a hard pass.

The big mistake was trading Cooper that can’t be undone now.

Doing nothing and letting the young guys marinate is the play for at the moment.

It remains to be seen if that is the right thing for Prescott and for McCarthy, who is heading into the season on the hot seat.

Time will tell.