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Cowboys 'made a big push' for Paxton Lynch but fell short

IRVING, Texas — Jerry Jones confirmed that his Dallas Cowboys were “working real hard” Thursday night to try to trade up to get back into the first round of the draft to select former Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch.

“We made a big push,” said Jones’ son, Stephen Jones, the team’s executive vice president. “A lot of times you get those things done. This time it just didn’t come our way. We really felt like we had a heck of a chance to get in there and we were working hard to get our pick up there. … a little disappointing that we didn’t get it done.”

The Denver Broncos, instead, were able to make a trade with the Seattle Seahawks to move up from No. 31 to No. 26 to select Lynch. A 6-foot-7 quarterback, Lynch was viewed as a prospect who would need a few years to develop before he was ready to contribute in the NFL.

That scenario would have been ideal for the Cowboys, who feel they still have at least a few more years with 36-year-old quarterback Tony Romo.

“You just don’t know how long Tony is going to play for,” Stephen Jones said. “He could play for three years, he could play for five years … The guy we got our hands around (Lynch) and we thought would probably be the perfect guy to sit and watch two or three years. In our opinion, it would have been a good fit for him to be right here and play behind a guy like Tony until whenever Tony was through.”

Jerry Jones said the Cowboys did not know what Denver had offered Seattle. Had he known, he said, he would have tried to match or make a better offer to trade up for Lynch.

The Cowboys will have the third pick in the second round — 34th overall in the draft — when the second round begins Friday.

Follow Eric Prisbell on Twitter @EricPrisbell.

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