SAN ANTONIO – Jerry Jones usually mentions his $2 million mistake when asked why he didn’t consider signing a veteran kicker this offseason.

The Cowboys cut Mike Vanderjagt, who owned the best field goal percentage in NFL history at the time, after a terrible 10-game stint in 2006. It’s understandable that Jerry is trigger-shy when it comes to signing a big check for a guy to try to boot the ball through the uprights.

But that doesn’t mean the Cowboys will never make a significant investment in another kicker.

“I expect to be spending some money on this kicker at a point in time,” Jerry said, referring to the only kicker in the Cowboys’ training camp.

That’s how strongly the Cowboys believe in David Buehler.

Buehler has made remarkable progress as a placekicker since the offseason workouts. The Cowboys are doing everything in their power to put him in position to succeed, including hiring Chris Boniol as his personal coach. So far during camp, the results are encouraging (13-of-15 on field goals, 5-of-6 from 40-plus), giving the Cowboys good reason to feel confident in their plan to have only one kicker.

“The big reason is that this gives us another roster spot. That’s it – underline, underline, underline,” Jerry said. “You’re dreaming if he doesn’t have the potential to excel at both, and I don’t think we’re dreaming.”