With free agency and the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, it is time for the Dallas Cowboys to focus on extending Dak Prescott to a long-term deal.
This offseason has been a whirlwind in Dallas.
They parted ways with a franchise legend in Tyron Smith, lost players like Tony Pollard, and their Defensive Coordinator, Dan Quinn.
Needless to say, Dallas has a plethora of roster questions heading into 2024.
Nearly half of the offensive line will be made up of rookies as Left Tackle Tyler Guyton and starting Center Cooper Beebe join the fray.
Potential Dallas Cowboys offensive line
LT: Tyler Guyton
LG: Tyler Smith
C: Cooper Beebe
RG: Zack Martin
RT: Terence Steele— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) April 27, 2024
While All-Pro’s Tyler Smith and Zack Martin remain, it is never completely smooth sailing when you have two starters with no prior NFL experience.
Dallas is also slated to put Jalen Tolbert at WR3, despite having just 24 career receptions.
These kinds of question marks, for a team that is allegedly “all-in”, are far from ideal.
The Cowboys have enough talent on the roster to compete for wins in 2024.
However, they are more likely to compete for Super Bowls after this season as they retool.
Suddenly being on the hunt for a new franchise quarterback would only delay that.
With this in mind, let’s take an even closer look at why extending Prescott’s contract has to be the top priority for Dallas.
Why Dallas Must Extend Prescott
Prescott, a 3x Pro Bowler, is coming off the best season of his career at 30 years old.
He finished second in MVP voting to Ravens Quarterback, Lamar Jackson.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott finished second in NFL MVP voting.
Lamar Jackson won by a large margin, receiving 49 of 50 first place votes
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) February 9, 2024
And, he had nine more touchdowns and nearly a thousand more passing yards than Jackson.
As dominant as his 2023 campaign was, it got overshadowed by a blowout loss to the Packers in the postseason, and I understand why.
That wild-card round debacle has caused many to question whether or not Prescott should be extended at all.
The problem for that crowd is franchise quarterbacks aren’t just walking around waiting to be picked up.
If that was the case, the Falcons wouldn’t have taken a shot on a 1st-round rookie QB after paying a veteran $180M just a few months prior.
The Falcons taking Michael Penix Jr. at pick #8 after signing Kirk Cousins to a 4yr/180M contact is an all time head scratcher 🤯
— Aggie Sports 365 (@365Aggie) April 26, 2024
Teams are doing everything they can to nail down their quarterback of the future.
Dallas already has that with Prescott, and you can’t let him go because Quinn’s defense gave up nearly 150 rushing yards to the Packers.
Don’t forget, despite their slow start, the Cowboys’ offense put up 510 yards that game.
It was hard to overcome the 41 points allowed on defense.
Regardless of that terrible Green Bay game, Prescott has shown himself to be a top-10 quarterback in the league, a leader in the locker room and community, reliable, and still progressing.
If a guy like that were to hit the open market, he would easily break the all-time contract record.
The Cowboys would likely not be able to compete with that money.
After all, they got outbid on guys like Zack Moss and A.J. Dillon this offseason.
Cowboys were in the mix today for RB Zack Moss, a person familiar with the discussions said. Ultimately, the price extended past their comfort point. Moss agreed with Bengals on a two-year, $8 million contract that includes $4.525 in earnings this year.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 12, 2024
Opinions on Prescott are all over the place, but when you boil it down to the facts, it would be silly not to re-sign him.
That brings us to the next part of this; where do talks stand between the two sides?
Is Dallas Working on a Deal?
It is no secret that this story is becoming a big one in the sports world.
Thus, both Prescott and the front office have been pressed on the issue by the media.
Earlier this offseason, the tone of an extension was much more positive.
Both Prescott and CEO Stephen Jones said “It will get done” during interviews when asked about a new deal for the quarterback.
Now, the two sides have come off of that rhetoric.
Prescott is now saying, that despite wanting to be in Dallas, he is comfortable playing elsewhere in the future.
Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott doesn’t ‘fear’ playing elsewhere after 2024 with his future uncertain pic.twitter.com/l57bZ0rgs2
— NFL Rumors (@nflrums) April 21, 2024
The front office has been even more ambiguous, with Jerry Jones doing anything he can to dodge questions about extending his quarterback.
Reports have also surfaced that QB-needy teams are preparing for a Prescott free agency sweepstakes.
Clearly, this story is far from over, and there will be a ton of coverage on it this season.
If Dallas is really serious about being competitive, however, there is an easy solution.
They should extend Prescott, and then start working on deals for the rest of their young, elite talent.
That is how winning organizations operate.
