New plan for Cowboys: Stephen Jones reveals Dallas steering away from players over 30 years old

One reason the Cowboys have been unable to escape the pull of .500 in past seasons is that they have paid significant money to players past the age of 30 who were no longer on the rise.

That’s why DeMarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher have found employment elsewhere and Miles Austin will soon follow.

“If we don’t learn from what has bitten us then shame on us,’’ said Stephen Jones, the team’s chief operating officer. “Unfortunately, we have been paying guys who are over 30 years old a lot of money up front and it hasn’t worked for us.

“I’m not saying that Hatcher won’t work out. I’m not saying that Ware won’t work out. But it hasn’t worked out for us, so we have to do something different.’’

Different is releasing Ware and Austin rather than keeping the players and restructuring their contracts to push the money down the road. Different is not signing Hatcher to an extension and allowing him to hit the market.

These moves aren’t a declaration that the club will never again throw big money at a player in his 30s. But it does signal a more critical eye in how these players will be judged.

“I’m not saying we will never do that,’’ Jones said. “There are always exceptions. But when you are coming off of what we have come off of, obviously we have been bit.

“It’s a young man’s game and there is a lot more risk when you’re signing guys past the 30 mark.’’