Adam Schefter is still bullish on the Dallas Cowboys entering 2026, but he also made one thing clear: Stephen A. Smith might end up being right anyway.
Schefter addressed the issue on his podcast Wednesday with co-host Michelle Smallmon, explaining why he had gone after Smith earlier in the week on ESPN’s "Get Up." Smith saw the segment, responded on social media, and Schefter then pushed his case even further on the podcast.
“I got bad news for Stephen A. Smith: The Dallas Cowboys are coming," Schefter said.
"And they’re coming because, if you think about it, the last couple of summers, there was all that drama. ... This summer, Michelle: drama-free Dallas.”
Even with that confidence, Schefter didn’t try to pretend the road to a title is easy.
“And he may be right again. The chances are Stephen A. is going to be right, because to get to the Super Bowl is very hard,” Schefter said.
Still, Schefter expects Dallas to be one of the NFL’s better teams and a top contender in the NFC. The Cowboys open their season Sept. 13 at the New York Giants.
Part of Schefter’s optimism comes from what he sees as a much calmer offseason in Dallas. In recent years, the Cowboys dealt with contract drama involving CeeDee Lamb, Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons. This time around, Prescott and Lamb are under contract, while George Pickens signed his franchise tender.
That’s a different picture from the last few summers. Two years ago, Lamb’s contract dispute stretched through training camp before he got a new deal.
Prescott didn’t finalize his contract until hours before the season opener against the Cleveland Browns, and that made him the NFL’s highest-paid player at the time. Then last offseason, Parsons’ contract dispute ended with the Cowboys trading him to the Green Bay Packers.
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