Is a pre-draft trade on the table for Dak Prescott?

The curious lack of movement on Dak Prescott’s contract extension continues to fuel speculation regarding the quarterback’s future.

Will the Cowboys eventually extend Prescott? Will they simply let him play out his contract and let him go after 2024?

They would – at best – get a third round pick in return if he departs in free agency and that’s not guaranteed at that.

Or, will the Cowboys make a pre-draft move and send their eight-year starter to play elsewhere?

Viva Las Vegas

USA Today CowboysWire writer K.D. Drummond has a potential trade partner in mind. If the Cowboys aren’t going to extend Prescott, Drummond’s idea makes a lot of sense.

Drummond has Dallas sending Prescott to the Las Vegas Raiders. In return, the Cowboys would get QB Aidan O’Connell and six draft picks.

The picks would be the Raiders’ 1st (13th overall), 2nd (44th), and 4th (112th) rounders in the 2024 Draft later this month.

Dallas would also get Vegas’ 1st and 3rd rounders in 2025 and their 2nd rounder in 2026. Full disclosure, I’m firmly in the camp of moving on from Prescott so I’m fully on board with this trade.

As Drummond points out, this package is similar to the Lions-Rams trade involving Jared Goff and Matt Stafford.

I doubt Dallas will be drafting a QB later this month. I suspect they have their eyes set on 2025 to draft that position.

O’Connell was a fourth-round pick in the 2023 Draft. He and Trey Lance would have the 2024 season to convince the Cowboys they are the long-term answer.

In the meantime they have three extra picks high enough in the draft to find future stars with. If Dallas is really in rebuild mode, this trade should happen.

Speaking of rebuild mode…

Is CeeDee On The Block Too?

If Prescott is sent off pre-draft, he might have company on the way out the door, or so Drummond suggests.

If the Cowboys move their starting QB, why pay a small fortune for a WR1 to play with a young, unproven replacement? Especially with Micah Parson in line for an expensive extension.

So where does Drummond see Lamb heading?

The Pittsburgh Steelers, who just added Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Two quarterbacks who could use a reliable receiver to throw to.

Dallas would get a 1st rounder (20th) and 3rd rounder (101st) in return. This is similar to the trade the Eagles made to pry A.J. Brown from the Titans.

In the case of both proposed trades, the moves made that they are compared to paid off for three of the four teams.

The Rams won a Super Bowl with Stafford. The Lions are looking like a contender with Goff.

Even the Eagles improved and are likely going to win the NFC East this year.

A Wildcard Trade

Drummond doesn’t end his wheeling and dealing there though. He sees the Commanders taking Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy with the second pick, instead of LSU’s Jayden Daniels.

That pick derails the Chargers’ plan to take McCarthy and opens the door for the Cowboys to package that 1st rounder from the Raiders along with the 4th rounder in 2025 and send them to Los Angeles.

In return the Cowboys get the 5th overall pick, the Chargers 4th rounder in 2024 and their 3rd rounder in 2025. With that trade done, Dallas would grab Daniels and maybe the Lamb trade gets put on hold. If nothing else, 2024 would be an interesting season if not a winning one.

So, Do These Trades Happen?

Anyone who says they can gaze into a crystal ball and read Jerry Jones’ mind is lying their… backside off.

The key point remains, if – and it’s a big if – Dallas has no intention of extending Prescott then yes, these trades need to happen. It’s time to rebuild and aim for higher results in 2025.

The trades, as Drummond proposes, make sense for all teams involved, especially the Cowboys.

Maybe they will happen, maybe they won’t. The draft is still 17 days away.

The Cowboys might wait until the draft begins and sees how the first few picks play out.

If the Heisman winner is still there at No. 5 – and McCarthy is in D.C. – the two proposed trades with the Raiders and Chargers make sense.

If I were the GM in Dallas, I’d pull the trigger.

Even if the trades with the Raiders, Chargers and Steelers fail to materialize – assuming Prescott is actually in his last year in Dallas – the Cowboys need to be major players in this year’s draft.

So, either Drummond’s plan, or another. Either way, go big, Jerry, or go away.