Stephen Jones made the news last week while discussing the Dallas Cowboys’ plans regarding their three big contract negotiations. Jones called it a “challenge” to re-sign everyone. He also said the team was “playing Houdini” to re-sign Dak Prescott while still fielding a competitive team.
And therein lies the problem — even if the team chooses to focus on Prescott alone. Which we know they aren’t because they seem to be making securing CeeDee Lamb a priority.
It’s a house of cards that’s already wobbling badly, and they haven’t even started work on the second tier yet at that.
The question becomes, not can they re-sign all three players, but how many should they re-sign, if any at all?
That Pesky NFL Salary Cap
Back in the early days, Jerry Jones just whipped out his checkbook and brought in whomever Jimmy Johnson told him they were signing.
That formula worked. Those three Lombardi trophies between 1992-95 attest to that.
When the salary cap came along, that advantage evaporated. The irony is, back then, the Cowboys were one of the loudest voices calling for the cap in the first place.
The Dallas Cowboys’ inability to work within the structure of the NFL salary cap is the main reason for the 28-season championship drought.
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Talk about getting hoisted on your own petard. (There’s your obligatory obscure Shakespeare reference for the offseason.)
Dallas keeps putting themselves into salary cap binds. Thus keeping them from making moves to add that one piece that could put them over the top.
This is where they are again this year, and there doesn’t seem to be a clear exit strategy in sight.
CeeDee Lamb Has To Be Priority #1
Of the three, Lamb has to be the one they cannot let slip away. He’s proven worthy of the 88 jersey and the future only looks brighter for him.
If the Cowboys only have enough money to pay one of the three, CeeDee Lamb needs to be that guy.
Just put the ball in his hands and get out of his way.
As long as Dallas has someone behind center who isn’t color-blind and can throw the ball at least 20 yards beyond the line, Lamb can cook.
What About Micah Parsons?
Micah Parsons should be Priority #2. In the right scheme, he’ll dominate any game.
He does tend to vanish in the playoffs.
That is more attributable to offenses double-and-triple-teaming him in the postseason. Not to mention, he gets held a lot without drawing a flag.
His teammates in the front seven need to show up when that ^^^ happens.
Still, an all-pro pass rusher is a must-have. The Cowboys should have the room to re-sign Lamb and Parsons without breaking the bank.
That would leave them the money they need to address other areas on the roster.
Dak Prescott: The $70 Million Dollar Man?
Before the indefensible contract given to Trevor Lawrence, Prescott was aiming for a $60 million a year deal. Then came talk of Jordan Love’s extension, soon to surpass that in Green Bay.
Reportedly, Prescott’s ask is now nearing $70 million.
That contract would be suicidal for the Cowboys.
They couldn’t re-sign Lamb or Parsons at that price. Nor would they have much of a competitive team, because they wouldn’t be able to get good players with the scraps they’d have left.
I’ll point out here that Patrick Mahomes, with his three Super Bowl rings, will play this year for $37 million.
He recently signed an extension that averages out to $45 million a year through the 2031 season.
There are eight quarterbacks in the NFL that make more than Mahomes. None of them has won a Super Bowl yet. Only three have even made it to a Super Bowl at all, and they are a combined 0-3.
None of them have any business being paid more than Mahomes. Neither does Dak Prescott.
The Solutions
The optimal solution would be landing CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. Only retaining Lamb would also work.
Re-signing Prescott, at the money he’s asking for? Shouldn’t be done. Can’t be done.
The only way Dallas retains all three is to keep playing kick the can down the road. As Charles Haley recently pointed out, that approach is what got the Cowboys where they are right now.
In salary cap hell, and with no apparent way out.
The worst possible solution, and one the Cowboys would never publicly admit to, is to go scorched earth.
Let all three go. But that way lies a full rebuild.
That solution leads to a two-to-four-year struggle before Dallas would be competitive again.
In short, there’s no easy solution here. And the Cowboys’ front office has no one to blame for it but themselves.