With this year’s free agency period now at two weeks old, there are several free agent quarterbacks still on the market.
The Dallas Cowboys have two quarterbacks currently on the roster in Dak Prescott and Will Grier. They will almost certainly add a third sooner or later.
But will that new quarterback come from free agency or the draft?
First, let’s take a look at the top five remaining free agents at the position:
- Aaron Rodgers
- Russell Wilson
- Joe Flacco
- Ryan Tannehill
- Carson Wentz
Where Are They Signing?
Rodgers is likely deciding whether or not to join the Steelers in 2025. He remains the longest of long shots to sign with the Vikings.
The former makes more sense than the latter.
Plus, does he really want to repeat all three legs of Brett Favre’s NFL career?
Probably not. To be honest, after his two-year run with the Jets, maybe it’s time for Rodgers to hang it up.
Unless he’s ready to be a veteran backup, which seems unlikely.
Wilson is being bandied about as heading for the Giants even though New York just signed Jameis Winston.
He would join Tommy DeVito and Winston on the roster if Wilson eventually does go there. It would almost certainly signal the Giants are targeting Travis Hunter with their first-round pick.
Flacco is being connected with Denver to serve as backup to Bo Nix.
This move makes sense with the quarterback whisperer, Sean Payton, up in Denver.
Assuming Rodgers has all but abandoned the Vikings, Ryan Tannehill seems to be the man in line to back up/mentor J.J. McCarthy in Minnesota.
Then there’s Wentz, who has made it to two Super Bowls and has a ring to show for it without playing a single snap in either game.
Wentz was the second overall pick in the same draft that Dallas selected Dak Prescott, just a few rounds later. Word has it he’s looking at Cleveland for 2025.
But would the Cowboys be looking at any of these five players?
Any Dallas Interest?
Probably not.
The Cowboys aren’t looking to spend the kind of money it would take to bring any of the top five in. After the top five, the talent level drops dramatically.
The one wild card would be bringing back Trey Lance, who so far isn’t generating any buzz in free agency.
He at least knows the team, and he could probably be brought back for a lot less than his original contract too.
But his showings in his lone preseason start, and his lone regular season start in January, failed to impress. In fact, he flat out failed.
It’s doubtful the Cowboys saw anything in those two games that would give them any confidence in him, even if they saw something on the practice field.
If Trey Lance plays anywhere in the NFL in 2025, it won’t be in Dallas.
It’s safe to assume that free agency will not be the tool used to fill the Cowboys’ open third quarterback spot on the depth chart in 2025.
Final Prediction: Draft Or Trade?
Since we can probably rule out a free agent signing, and that leaves two options.
Dallas will either make a trade for a veteran quarterback or they will look to the draft for one.
Drafting a quarterback later in the draft and developing him to either take over if Prescott goes down unexpectedly, or even be Prescott’s eventual successor, is probably the right move.
Getting it right is the challenge. The Cowboys were lucky in 2016 when they drafted Prescott.
He managed to step up in his rookie year when Romo went down for good with his final injury in that year’s preseason.
We’ll find out next month who they’ve decided to draft, probably in the fifth round.
It’ll be a while longer before we can discover if they can repeat history or not. Hopefully, whoever they draft can be the great regular season quarterback Prescott is.
Maybe he’ll even be able to win in the postseason.