Aikman: Jones chasing headlines after Parsons trade risks winning

Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman said Tuesday that owner Jerry Jones’s drive to keep the franchise in the headlines risks eclipsing a singular focus on winning, comments that come amid widespread fallout from the team’s shock trade of star pass rusher Micah Parsons. Aikman made the remarks on The Rich Eisen Show, several days after the Cowboys sent Parsons to the Green Bay Packers as contract negotiations with Dallas stalled.

"I saw Jerry talk about the fact that having the Cowboys as a discussion point is meaningful to him," Aikman said. "And if people aren’t talking about the Cowboys, then he’ll do things to stir it up." He added that while he does not believe Jones does not care about winning, the optics of recent moves give the impression that attention and drama sometimes supersede on-field results. "Do I think that winning is not important to Jerry Jones? Not at all," Aikman said. "I think Jerry wants to win more than anything else."

The Parsons trade, completed on August 28, touched off a fierce debate among fans and analysts. Reports indicate Parsons signed a four-year, $188 million deal with Green Bay that includes $136 million fully guaranteed and an...