Cowboys running back Marion Barber is looking for a salary bump, and instead of signing the one-year restricted-free-agent tender for $2.6 million, he's willing to stay away from the team complex, at least during the voluntary workouts. Not exactly throwing down the gauntlet, but it's early in the process; a lot can happen between now and training camp.

In the meantime, owner Jerry Jones is unconcerned; he's confident that no matter how things work out, Barber will be the same bruising runner he's always been. Barber's teammate, Terrell Owens, knows a little something about contract disputes, and while he's apparently very happy in Dallas, according to the Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon, T.O. "won't be disappointed if ... Barber stays away from Valley Ranch."

You see, Barber recently hired agent Drew Rosenhaus, the same guy who so eloquently defended a shirtless Owens in his Philly-area driveway during those halcyon days with the Eagles. It all worked out, though, and that's why T.O.'s not worried about Barber:

T.O. figures Barber already made a wise move by switching to Rosenhaus last season. His advice to Barber is to follow his agent's advice. "That's what he has an agent for," T.O. said. "He wouldn't put him in a bad situation. He's going to be very smart about it."

Very smart, indeed. NEXT QUESTION!

So now it turns out that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has not, in fact, broken up with "singer" and "actress" Jessica Simpson, contrary to the investigative journalists at the Dallas Morning News.

At least, that's the latest news if you believe the investigative journalists at UPI and People Magazine, who say that in reality, not only are Romo and Simpson are still together, and that Romo is Jessica's date to Ashlee Simpson's wedding today.

Because it's May and there's not much else going on, something as innocuous as a player missing a weight-lifting session can suddenly become a front-page scandal. Perhaps that's a little too breathless, but you get the point.

Cowboys running back Marion Barber is looking for a long-term deal, and as a result, he has yet to sign his one-year, $2.6 million restricted free agent tender offer. He's also not participating in the team's offseason workouts, which, depending on your perspective, is potentially a big deal. Owner Jerry Jones, is unconcerned, and he doesn't think it'll have any bearing on Barber's performance once the season starts. You know, because it's May:

Although Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is disappointed with running back Marion Barber electing not to work out with the team thus far this off-season, he doesn't feel it [it's an issue]. ...

"I don't see that it will have a negative impact in his playing this year," Jones said Wednesday during the Cowboys' annual golf tournament for some of its corporate partners.

I think that's right. Players are primarily working out this time of year, and whether it's in Dallas or somewhere else, I don't think it much matters, especially since Barber's familiar with the Cowboys' offense.

The team is hoping to sign both Barber and safety Ken Hamlin prior to training camp, and you have to think they feel pretty good about their chances. There was some grumblings from the Dallas-area media that the team should've taken Rashard Mendenhall over Felix Jones with the 22nd pick, but if the Cowboys consider Barber a part of the immediate future, Jones makes more sense. Now all that's left to do is to give Barber a bunch of money.

Terrell Owens took time out from his busy schedule of trying to make Flava Flav semi-relevant again to talk to the NFL Network. Total Access host Rich Eisen touched on all the predictable topics -- what went wrong with the Cowboys in 2007, what to expect in 2008 -- before getting to the truly important stuff: Tony Romo's future in the music industry.

Specifically, Romo's forgettable rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," that led T.O. to tell the Dallas Morning News' Albert Breer: "Oh man ... He's getting some motivation for the wrong things. He cannot sing. Jessica may have an album, but he needs to leave singing up to her. I think he's tone deaf."

Which has pretty much been the consensus across the internets. But according to Breer, Eisen asked Owens to bust out his inner-Simon Cowell and critique Romo's performance:

"Wow, that was the most terrible thing that's come across my ears. Dude, you just get back in bed and wake up on the other side. Because this side is not working for me. Leave the [singing] to Jessica Simpson. What do you think, Randy? Paula?"

Yes, Tony, get back in bed ... and wake up on the other side? Huh? Somewhere Jason Taylor is wondering why he couldn't have played for the Cowboys, a team that apparently has no problem with its players making spectacles of themselves during the offseason.

So last week, Cowboys safety Roy Williams, via his unofficial spokesman, Greg Ellis, admitted that he doesn't think he's a good fit for Dallas' defense. Presumably, this all goes back to the league outlawing the horse-collar tackle, although it might have something to do with Williams' inability to cover grass in passing situation. Or, it could be something else entirely (the most likely scenario, I think).

Which is probably why Williams met with defensive coordinator Brian Stewart last week. And today, owner Jerry Jones commented on the whole situation:

"I have, candidly, a lot of confidence in Roy Williams' competitiveness, his record as an outstanding football player," Jones said. "I know what a competitor he is, I know what a team player he is and that hasn't changed as far as I'm concerned. And for us to be the team we want to be, in my mind, we need Roy to really be the player he can be. That's possible to do here. ... When I look at it, I see the chance for Roy Williams really to have a fine year for us and do what he wants to do individually. I have a lot of faith in Roy Williams."

So there's that. The biggest issue, it seems, is Williams' confidence. Stewart made it clear that he's not worried about the Pro Bowl safety's state of mind, but as the Dallas Morning News' Tim MacMahon wrote yesterday, "... that doesn't change the news value of [Ellis'] revelation that Williams had a defeatist attitude about his fit in the new defensive scheme before playing a preseason game."

Maybe this is nothing; deep-into-the-offseason speculation to get us to training camp. Or maybe there's some truth there. In which case, the Cowboys will have some decisions to make about the strong safety position.

In a dogged piece of reporting, the Dallas Morning News has examined all the evidence, interviewed anonymous sources, and confirmed a shocking development: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo has broken up with girlfriend Jessica Simpson.

The newspaper reports:

But after taking several oaths not to divulge my sources, two people close to Tony and Jess have told me that the glam couple is over, splitsville, kaput, put a fork in it.

So it appears that the couple whose on-again, off-again relationship has been blamed for the Cowboys' playoff loss to the New York Giants is off again.

For his part, Romo always refuses to discuss his personal life. And Simpson's representatives have denied the rumors of a breakup. But the Dallas Morning News is devoting some serious resources to this story, and they say it's over. So, ladies, Romo is available.

As he makes the media rounds to promote his appearance on Under One Roof, Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens was on Conan O'Brien, where he explained his taste in women:


(Via Shutdown Corner) "A couple of my close friends, we have this little slogan: Looking for someone low-maintenance, that looks high-maintenance, but they're really not," Owens said. "I like the model type. Just the hot girls. ... I want to roll over, look at her when I get up, like, 'How did you get here?'"

Owens also discussed the awkward phase of his childhood ("at one point, I was really Conan O'Brien-ish") and his work with the Alzheimer's Association.

Cowboys receiver Terrell Owens will be making his sitcom debut this Wednesday on MyNetworkTV's show Under One Roof. The show features one of those odd-couple type stories as successful, uptight Winston Hill (played by Kelly Perine) who sees his ex-con brother Calvester Hill (played by Flava Flav) move in.

Hijinks alert!

Well, in the Terrell Owens episode coming up (check the preview here), T.O. plays "a long lost brother Sean. Calvester begins to have suspicions about his family ties when Sean asks Winston to invest in his website."

According to T.O., this is something he'd really be interested in doing in the future:

"I'm trying to kind of smooth my way into the family, but Flav is not buying it. It's a lot of funny dialogue. It was a good time."

It might also be a first step toward a second career.

"If I'm going to really consider doing acting after football, this a great start to let me get my feet wet," Owens said. "For an actor trying to become an A-lister, I think I'm on the bottom of the pile. I'm a D-lister."

Under One Roof is on MyNetworkTV this Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis is heading into the final year of his contract, and Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that he and the team are far apart in negotiating a new deal.

And that makes me wonder if Lewis is heading into his final year with the Ravens. Lewis turns 33 next week, and although he's still a decent player, he's nowhere near the kind of dominant linebacker he was five or 10 years ago. And although Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has said he expects Lewis to be a Raven for life, he isn't likely to want to pay Lewis like a star.

So if Lewis can find a team that will pay him like a star, he could leave in February or March of 2009. Mike Florio wonders at Pro Football Talk whether the Cowboys -- who currently have Lewis's little brother under contract -- might be interested. If it comes down to a bidding war between Bisciotti and Jerry Jones, I'd bet on Jones to fork over more cash.

Chris Henry. like a rash, just won't go away. The Bengals released him earlier this off-season after his 11th run-in with police since 2005. Apparently, the team draws the line at double-digit offenses. It's good to set boundaries.

At the time, I (half-kiddingly) speculated that Dallas seemed like the way-too-obvious next destination. Yeah, maybe I was onto something.

While we wait for this thing to sort itself out, Henry spoke to the media for the first time since the Bengals released him early last month. In case you're wondering, he's interested in playing for two teams above all others:

"There are two teams that I would always love to play for: That's New Orleans and Dallas," Henry said. "New Orleans is home for me. That's always been a big dream of mine. Hopefully I can get in there and sit down with the coaches and maybe have an opportunity to get down there. And Dallas is another team that I've always looked up to as a kid and wanted to play for them."

No word if either the Saints or the Cowboys are interested in talking to Henry, although it wouldn't surprise me if Jerry Jones is gassing up the team jet as I type this.

Even if another team gives him another chance to mess up, Henry's professional future will depend on the legal system and Roger Goodell. Assuming he can escape with probation or a fine, Henry will still have to get by the commissioner -- the same guy who suspended him for eight games in 2007.