An eight-time Pro Bowler, three-time first-team All-Pro — one of the best defenders of this generation — was staring Jerry Jones in the face. The wheeling-and-dealing Dallas Cowboys czar could not resist.

Unfortunately for Jones, his hopes of acquiring Patrick Peterson were dashed this past March when the former Arizona Cardinals cornerback took his talents to Minnesota, inking a one-year, $8 million free-agent deal to become the new Vikings CB1.

That isn’t to say Jones did not intercede and attempt to lure Peterson to Big D, however. Quite the opposite. According to The Athletic’s Dan Pompei, the Cowboys even “pushed” to sign the 2011 No. 5 overall pick but ultimately fell short.

“Once the team Peterson wanted to play for most was no longer an option, he began contemplating the possibilities. The Cowboys and 49ers made pushes, he says. There were conversations with the Eagles,” Pompei recently revealed.

“When he interviewed with Zimmer before the draft in 2011, Peterson was drawn to him. At the time, Zimmer was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator. With the fourth pick in the draft, the Bengals chose wide receiver A.J. Green, and the Cardinals took Peterson with the following selection.