Ex-Cowboys player thinks team is plagued by 1 big issue

Oct 16, 2016; Green Bay, WI, USA; A Dallas Cowboys helmet sits on the field prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Dallas won 30-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Texans tight end Dalton Schultz opened up about his time with the Dallas Cowboys, and he was not exactly complimentary.

Earlier this week, Schultz agreed to a new three-year deal with the Texans, and he appeared on Thursday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show” to discuss the agreement. When asked about the differences between playing for the Texans and the Cowboys, Schultz did not hold back with an honest assessment of the environment in Dallas.

“The focus is just football, you know what I mean?” Schultz said, via Jared Dubin of CBS Sports. “I’m going back and telling some people about being around the Cowboys practice facility and game day and describing some of the interactions and stuff that you see on a day-to-day basis and it surprises a lot of people. They’re like, ‘Holy crap. That actually happens at a practice facility?’ You think it’s normal, and then you come to a place like this.

“It’s literally a zoo, dude. There’s people tapping on the glass trying to get people’s attention while they’re doing power cleans or whatever. It’s different. That’s the brand that they’ve built, that’s what Jerry Jones likes, that’s the way that they run things and there’s nothing wrong with that. You don’t realize how many eyeballs and how much that can maybe distract in the locker room, just being in the facility until you go somewhere else and you’re like, ‘Holy crap, there’s none of that.'”

Schultz’s comments seem to be meant less as criticism and more as an explanation of how many distractions come with playing for the Cowboys, and how it can be a problem. It is clearly not for everyone, and it does not seem to be an environment Schultz enjoyed being a part of. For some other players that don’t want to go anywhere else, it seems to work just fine.

Schultz was a success in Dallas, but kept the momentum going with Houston last season. He caught 59 passes for 635 yards and five touchdowns.