**INDIANAPOLIS –** Heading into the 2026 season, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones knows that there are a number of holes that need to be filled on their roster, especially on defense, if they want to compete for a Super Bowl.
With that comes work to do in free agency, a market that Jones envisions the Cowboys being active in when the new league year begins on March 11.
"I could see us being aggressive in free agency," Jones said. "By the very virtue of having two number ones, we're gonna spend more money in the draft than normally you would spend… So we'll spend money."
Jones made clear that he feels the Cowboys are not in a position to wait around, saying "we got to go this year" when it came to personnel decisions, specifically talking about players with injuries/injury concerns in the draft.
The only way Jones can capitalize on the present is by investing in it, something he's willing to do while sacrificing some aspects of the future.
"The only way to push more is for me to go borrow some of my future. Expect me to go borrow some of my future…" Jones said. "I want to do everything we possibly can to stop somebody and to basically win some third downs more than we did last year. So I think that would be the area that you would see me bust the budget."
Busting the budget is one thing, but where will the Cowboys allocate their resources on defense? For Jones, there's clear-cut top positional need, and it's a matter of trying to plug up multiple needs with the resources they have.
"We need more than one good football player, more than two good football players. Additional," Jones said. "That's not to say everything is about our personnel… If it were just a matter of a few holes, it would be different. That's not the case."