When the Dallas Cowboys brass said they were prepared to pay Quarterback Dak Prescott “what he deserves”, it carried a much different meaning for the 2016 Rookie of the Year. Despite missing the playoffs at 9-7 in 2017, Prescott has plenty of reason to remain confident in his game and future with the Cowboys — moving on from agent Jeff Guerreiro to join CAA’s Todd France.
Prescott’s switch in representation comes as he enters year three of a rookie contract that runs through 2019. This is when the fourth round draft pick will be eligible to negotiate a long-term deal with the Cowboys.
With Prescott’s near-perfect rookie campaign followed by a decline just short of a true “sophomore slump”, the 2019 season will likely be the earliest point at which the Cowboys even feel comfortable evaluating Prescott’s future.
Forced to play last year without Running Back Ezekiel Elliott for six games and Left Tackle Tyron Smith for three (effectively four with Smith leaving a week 16 contest against the Seahawks that ended the Cowboys’ playoff hopes), Prescott has seen nothing but constant change on offense since the Cowboys handed him the keys as a rookie.
This is the stem from which Prescott is justified in his optimism for the 2018 season budding to life with such a young roster. In his eyes, he has done nothing but fulfill everything the Cowboys have asked of him since day one.
Entering 2016, the backup QB position behind Tony Romo was of upmost importance for the Cowboys to avoid a repeat of 2015. Prescott may have been elevated to QB2 status only after Kellen Moore’s season-ending injury in Oxnard, but his preseason play justified this spot.
Cowboys Nation need not be reminded what happened next, although memories of the 2016 season are the most recent, consistently good results from Prescott. It will take at least one more similar season for Prescott to earn the contract he was on pace for after 16 career games, currently making more from endorsement deals than he does from providing the Cowboys stability at quarterback.
A more expansive look at his first 24 games, which includes the beginning of 2017 with Elliott in the backfield, all but ensures that Prescott can be the guy in Dallas.
Through as much change as the Cowboys have made in efforts to contend under Prescott’s rookie contract, their quarterback has done nothing but embrace his new teammates and show confidence in the direction of the team.
Should new teammates like Wide Receiver Michael Gallup and Left Guard Connor Williams help in putting Prescott and the Cowboys back in the spotlight as a “bounce back” team, agent Todd France is going to have all the leverage he needs to earn Prescott a mega-deal in 2019.
With this season seemingly so far away still, all the Cowboys can do for now is hope their Dak-friendly remodeling job on offense has truly increased the value of their quarterback. A value that can only be described as priceless based on where Prescott sees this team going in the near future.
