LANDOVER, Md. — Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has made it known that he’ll voice his opinion when it comes to the team’s roster construction next season. He already has some thoughts.
“Find a way to keep a guy like [wide receiver] George [Pickens],” Prescott said after Thursday’s 30-23 road win over the Washington Commanders. “Find a way to keep a guy like [running back] Javonte [Williams].”
Those checklist items have been on the offseason agenda for the Cowboys and owner Jerry Jones for quite some time. The value of Pickens and Williams has been discussed a lot over the course of this season. Their place on next year’s roster may not be set — and as we saw this past season, no one’s officially in the Cowboys’ future until a contract says so — but it’s now an expectation.
A new name might’ve joined that tier on Christmas Day.
Cowboys defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, in the words of head coach Brian Schottenheimer, was dominant in the win over the Commanders. Clowney finished with 1.5 sacks, marking the second time he’s had more than one sack in the last four games. Clowney now is tied with James Houston for the team-lead in sacks this season with 5.5.
“You look up and you saw 42 harassing the quarterback,” Schottenheimer said of Clowney. “You see 42 chasing down [plays].
“I just love the way the guy plays.”
It might be because Clowney, at 32 and in his 12th NFL season, is loving playing — even when there could be a reason not to.
Thursday’s game between the Cowboys and Commanders looked a lot better before the season. The Commanders were in the NFC Championship last season. The Cowboys had aspirations of a turnaround in Schottenheimer’s first season. Both teams were eliminated from playoff contention well before they kicked off at Northwest Stadium.
After Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, Clowney was asked how he stays motivated with no path to the postseason. The question baffled Clowney.
“What you mean motivated? They’re paying me,” said Clowney, who signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal in September. “That’s enough motivation for me. I like money.”
On Thursday, he put his money where his mouth was. Twelve years ago, when Clowney became the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, he was known for his immense physical talent. Today, his best attribute has been his effort. There’s an evident never-quit mentality to his playing style. That’s what helped him finish with 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.
Clowney’s motor this season isn’t only financially driven, however.
Schottenheimer referenced something he heard Clowney tell the younger players earlier this week as they prepared to play without any playoff hope. Clowney’s message, according to Schottenheimer, was about perspective: being appreciative of how blessed they are to play in the NFL, even if it’s a game that can’t get them toward the ultimate goal of winning a Super Bowl. Clowney told them to never take it for granted.
That stuck out to Schottenheimer, who’s known Clowney since their time together with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019.
“When he was a younger player — he can speak to this — not that he took it for granted, but he appreciates [the game] so much more now,” Schottenheimer said.
Clowney spoke to that appreciation, too.
“A lot,” Clowney said when he was asked how much fun he’s having this season. “It’s football, man. Not everybody can do it. It’s a blessing for me to still be playing 12 years. I thank God every day for that. I have a lot of fun doing it. If I could have fun doing something else I probably would, but I have so much fun doing this I look forward to Sundays, and big games, and the spotlight, and the cameras and all that … I think it brings the best out of me.”
That’s as evident as it is contagious. Prescott said he could feel Clowney’s love for the game. Prescott said he’s seen it since the Cowboys signed Clowney on Sept. 14. He believes they’re better off with Clowney on their team moving forward.
“We’re fortunate to have him,” Prescott said. “He’s one of those guys that we’ve got to figure out a way to keep.”
Good news for the Cowboys: Clowney said he’d be interested in returning to play for Dallas if they were willing to bring him back.
“I’ve got a lot left in the tank,” Clowney said. “I’m not going to go sit on my couch. I’m going to stay ready.”
Clowney even said that he’s hoping to go to training camp, which is something he didn’t do this past year. There was excitement in his voice as he talked about shaking off rust before the season, rather than ramping up like he did this year. As the season has gone on, he’s shown why he might be deserving of that chance.
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
DALLAS – Dallas City Council members approved a measure to explore options for leaving Dallas City Hall while, but left the door open to staying in the iconic building.
What we know:
The resolution approved will explore options to buy or lease a new City Hall building. It was amended to include a plan to pay for repairs to the current building that would be compared side by side to the options to leave.
Dallas City Council approved the resolution by a 9-6 vote. The vote came around 1 a.m. Thursday morning after 14 hours of debate.
Councilman Chad West told FOX 4’s Lori Brown that if the city decides to stay or leave City Hall, the resolution includes proposals to redevelop the land around the building.
“We still should be looking at redevelopment options to tie it into the convention center later on, because otherwise it just equals ghost town, which is what we have now,” West said. “And of course, if we decide to move and City Hall itself gets repurposed or demolished and something gets built there, we need to have a projected plan for what that could look like as well.”
Local perspective:
Around 100 residents spoke about their desire to keep the current Dallas City Hall, the historic structure designed by architect I.M. Pei.
“The thought of losing this land to private hands is disheartening. A paid-off asset, unfair to taxpayers, built on what is here,” Meredith Jones, a Dallas resident, said.
“The decision belongs to the people, not the city council,” David Boss, the former manager of Dallas City Hall, said.
Several questioned why the price tag for a repair is public knowledge, but the cost for a move isn’t.
“The public deserves to know the value of the land we are giving up. Dallas deserves a careful decision, not a rushed one,” resident Azael Alvarez said.
Dallas City Council went back and forth on the resolution, amending it before it finally passed. Much of the conversation revolved around the Dallas Mavericks’ potential interest in the site for a new arena.
Mayor Eric Johnson lamented that conversation revolved around the Mavs’ future and not City Hall itself.
“A conversation about a particular sports team and where you want them should never have been part of the conversation because that was not what was infront of us,” Johnson said. “I’ve never seen such vehement opposition to gathering more information.”
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn wore a Mavericks T-shirt to a recent hearing due to the continued conversation around them.
“We’re talking a lot about the Mavs. They’re the elephant in the room, but they’re actually not here, so let’s at least let them have a seat at the horseshoe,” Mendelsohn said on Monday.
Residents were also upset at the idea of City Hall being bulldozed to make way for a new Mavs arena.
“The Mavericks were ridiculed nationally, and still are. Worst trade in the history of the NBA,” one resident said Monday. “The decision to knock this building down without all the facts and allowing the people to make the decision is your Luka Dončić trade.”
The backstory:
Experts who assessed Dallas City Hall said the 47-year-old building’s mechanical, plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical systems don’t meet modern standards.
It put a $906 million to $1.4 billion price tag on keeping the iconic building, which was designed by the famous Chinese architect I.M. Pei, for another 20 years.
Downtown Dallas Inc., an advocacy group for Downtown Dallas, said last week they support leaving the current City Hall site.
“We believe Dallas City Hall is no longer serving its intended purpose. The important functions that happen and must continue to be evolved and innovated within our city government are inefficient and truly stymied in that space,” said Jennifer Scripps, President and CEO of Downtown Dallas Inc. told the crowd. “Our board called a special called meeting and voted unanimously in support of pursuing options to relocate City Hall and redevelop the site. We were we feel that the opportunity is huge.”
The Source: Information in this story came from FOX 4 reporting.
How much do you earn? And how far does that paycheck really go?
In Dallas, a $100,000 salary is a figure that’s more than double the area’s individual median income, but nevertheless a useful benchmark for the region’s burgeoning business community. However — once taxes and the local cost of living is factored in — it has the effective purchasing power of around $80,000 according to a new financial report.
Consumer-focused fintech site SmartAsset worked the numbers on the country’s 69 largest cities, determining the “estimated true value of $100,000 in annual income” in each location by measuring federal, state and local taxes as well as local cost of living data, including on housing, groceries and utilities.
It used its own proprietary figures, as well as information from the Council for Community and Economic Research.
Related
Despite recent research suggesting North Texas has lately been losing some of its famous economic advantage — a major factor behind the region’s explosive growth — Dallas actually fared relatively well in SmartAsset’s analysis. Of the 69 cities, Dallas’ effective purchasing power, of $80,103 on the $100,000 salary, tied with Nashville to rank 22nd highest.
Like many cities in the report, Dallas also actually saw a year-over-year effective salary bump, likely because of slightly lower effective tax rates and living costs that have hewed closer to the national average. In 2024, the value of a $100,000 salary in Dallas came out to $77,197.
Other large Texas cities fared even better than Dallas. El Paso, where SmartAsset calculated the effective value of the $100,000 salary at nearly $90,300, ranked third highest overall.
San Antonio, where the effective value was around $86,400, ranked eighth. Houston, where the figure was around $84,800, ranked 10th, and Austin, where the figure was $82,400, ranked 17th.
Oklahoma City topped SmartAsset’s value ranking, with an effective salary of around $91,900, and Manhattan, which the website considered as its own city, came in with the lowest value, at around $29,400.
Dallas’ relatively strong effective value score won’t necessarily translate to the good life: Another financial report, published in November by the website Upgraded Points, determined that even a single adult with no kids needs a pre-tax salary of at least $107,000 to live “comfortably” in the Metroplex.
Exclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
Setting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
Mother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
Massachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
AM showers Sunday in Maryland
Florida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling
