The Dallas Cowboys player contract extensions continue to dominate the headlines. From Dak Prescott to CeeDee Lamb to Micah Parsons, the questions won’t go away until they are answered. On Friday, those questions were being thrown at Cowboys CEO Stephen Jones, and he had some important responses.
While appearing on The Athletic’s “Scoop City” podcast, Jones discussed the deals for all of these players, and even gave insight into their active negotiations with Prescott.
While we will get into the specifics on the Prescott negotiation, there was a quote from Jones that should catch everybody’s eye.
Cowboys Vice President Stephen Jones on the difficulty of re-signing star players. 😅 https://t.co/pGhNaqV8SU pic.twitter.com/4dTM5VICGc
— theScore (@theScore) July 19, 2024
On the subject of contract negotiations, Jones said when you start adding big contracts on top of each other, it’s “a challenge” to keep everybody. Unfortunately for Jones, when you look across the NFL, other teams don’t buy that.
Now more than ever, organizations are finding ways around the salary cap to keep their top guys. So, what will happen if the Cowboys re-signing saga runs amok due to the Cowboys’ not being up to the “challenge” of paying its players?
Soft Rebuild Happening in Dallas?
When the front office is telling fans they might not be able to keep everybody, fans should start preparing for that reality and what it means for the future.
Nobody is saying that the Cowboys re-signing story ending with a few familiar faces leaving will send the team into shambles. However, it sure sounds like Jones may be signaling a continued soft rebuild.
We saw this strategy this offseason as the team’s re-signing period came and went without deals for Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Stephon Gilmore, Dorance Armstrong, and many more.
Cowboys key free agents this off-season: RB Tony Pollard, OT Tyron Smith, CB Stephon Gilmore, C Tyler Biadasz, DE Dorance Armstrong Jr., S Jayron Kearse, CB Jourdan Lewis, DT Johnathan Hankins, DT Neville Gallimore, DE Dante Fowler Jr., OT Chuma Edoga, CB Noah Igbinoghene, RB…
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 15, 2024
That, accompanied by virtually no free agency signings, was a clear attempt to save money, wave goodbye to older players, and moderately compete in 2024.
Now, let’s take Jones at his word and say Dallas struggles to keep everybody going forward.
What will that look like?
For starters, it sure seems like 2024 will be the last year in Dallas for DeMarcus Lawrence. The aging defensive star will hit free agency after this season, and I don’t see the Cowboys re-signing him.
It will cost a lot, and Marshawn Kneeland and Sam Williams are waiting behind him.
All I know about Marshawn Kneeland is he's @dpbrugler's guy. And that's plenty good enough for me.
Sam Williams is the only EDGE depth on the roster, & Tank is in a contract year. It's a pick that makes sense.
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) April 27, 2024
Essentially, according to Jones, expensive veterans like Lawrence, Brandin Cooks, Malik Hooker, and perhaps even Zack Martin could be casualties of a financial struggle.
Jones Gives an Update on Dak Prescott
As I mentioned, in addition to Jones’ general money discussion, he also gave fans an update on how the Prescott negotiations are going.
Depending on which side you land on the issue, you’ll either be thrilled or pretty upset over it. All indications are now pointing toward a major extension for the quarterback, likely before the season starts.
Outside the podcast interview, Dianna Russini reported that the team is having direct, “positive” conversations with Prescott and his agent, Todd France.
The Dallas Cowboys are currently having positive conversations with Dak Prescott's agent Todd France as they are working to get a deal done. They are also talking directly to Prescott. Stephen Jones joined Scoop City to discuss: https://t.co/Gx1G2MzGMs
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) July 19, 2024
On the podcast, Jones said he was “optimistic” and that they’re “having conversations with his agent, with Dak personally, both Jerry and myself. He knows our goal is to keep him here.”
That’s quite a jump from earlier this spring when prominent reporters were openly saying Prescott was all but certain to head for free agency.
Just a few months later, the two sides are finally collaborating on a potential deal.
As Jones said himself, the goal for them is to keep Dak Prescott, and that alone should cool the temperature within the debates about it.
Speaking at his youth camp, Dak Prescott talks on his contract extension talks saying that “there have been conversations back and forth” but that once training camp starts, his “mind flips” to helping the team.#DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/wULbW8R8ml
— Nick Harris (@NickHarrisDC) July 9, 2024
The Cowboys re-signing Prescott seems like it will get done, and with that, all the talk about a blockbuster trade, drafting Shedeur Sanders or Quinn Ewers, or any other far-reaching scenario, will be put to bed.
Dallas already has a superstar quarterback in-house, and it seems like they will keep him inside the building for at least a couple more years.
