The ramifications of Sanders and his damaged left toe go well beyond their impact on the secondary. They strike at the Cowboys competitive and financial core. Jones has conducted the majority of his off-season business on the flawed assumption that Sanders would be healthy. This set certain financial strategies into motion that could now compromise the club. It resulted in free agent and draft decisions that can t be reversed.
Sanders isn t without blame.
There are whispers at Valley Ranch that he failed to follow his rehabilitation program as faithfully as the club desired. By not sharing his nagging concerns about the toe with the Cowboys earlier, Sanders decreased management s ability to react. Still, the onus for monitoring Sanders condition rested with Jones. He was the one who spent the past four months attempting to sign the Pro Bowl cornerback to an extension that would allow him to finish his career in a Cowboys uniform. Despite Jones claim that he knew about the fragile nature of Sanders health before the draft a claim that s difficult to take seriously given the sequence of events the club did nothing to address the secondary in the draft.