DALLAS — The Super Bowl is done and dusted and now the offseason can finally begin. For the Dallas Cowboys, that means making some important financial decisions on some of their best players.
This process starts with quarterback Dak Prescott, who is now in the last year of the four-year deal that he signed during the 2021 offseason. Due to restructures, Prescott’s cap hit in the final year has ballooned to nearly $60 million for 2024, a number that cannot stay if the Cowboys are going to compete for a championship. Keeping it that high will hamper the team’s ability to add any pieces to improve in free agency.
In addition to the high cost for Prescott, part of the current deal included the condition that the team can't use the franchise tag on him again, so the pressure is on the organization to either extend their MVP-caliber quarterback or have him play out his deal and risk him walking away after the season as an unrestricted free agent. That is not an attractive option for the Cowboys, who saw Prescott raise his game in 2023.
After years of talks to ink Prescott’s current deal, here comes another offseason of negotiations between the team and their franchise quarterback, who are in their fourth contract stare down.
However, this time around, it feels like the Cowboys realize that they need to get a deal done sooner, rather than later. With Dallas up against the salary cap, other pending free agents that need to be signed, and an extension waiting for star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, agreeing to a new contract with Prescott before the opening of free agency is of paramount importance.
Luckily, the organization appears to understand these facts. If they indeed intend to go “all-in” as Jerry Jones suggested, they know a new deal must come quickly so that the Cowboys can be ready to be players when free agency opens in March.
Prescott holds all the cards in these negotiations, the organization needs to lower his cap number to field another good team in 2024, and unless the Cowboys want to move on from their elite level signal caller, they should make him one of the highest paid players in the NFL. It’s Prescott’s time to cash in and the Joneses appear ready to reward him.
Coming off a career year, it’s hard to blame the Cowboys for wanting to move quickly to re-sign Prescott. The now eight-year veteran quarterback became the first Cowboys quarterback to lead the NFL in touchdown passes since Roger Staubach, topped the league in completion percentage, second in passer rating, and third in yards while dramatically reducing his interceptions from the previous year.
It was a slow start from Prescott and the offense in 2023, as the group adjusted to head coach Mike McCarthy’s new playbook, but he turned things on after the bye week. In Prescott’s last 11 games, he threw 30 touchdown passes against just five interceptions as the Cowboys’ offense wound up leading the league in scoring.
Keeping Prescott in the fold, at a salary cap number that can be worked around, keeps the Cowboys in contention and even though he hasn’t led the team to a Super Bowl, there aren’t many better quarterbacks in the league. There’s no way the team wants to rebuild, take the time, or their chances, in finding another quarterback who would be more suited to end the playoff drought in Dallas.
Instead, the Cowboys look like they’re going to continue to ride with Prescott and hopefully put more pieces around him. Signing him before the start of free agency will help open cap space and give the team the resources to be aggressive in the open market.
Jones, in bringing back McCarthy following another confounding playoff exit, made it clear that Dallas is focusing all of their efforts on finishing the job in 2024 and that includes being disruptive in free agency, which cannot happen unless Prescott gets a new contract. The front office continues to say that they believe in Prescott. If that’s the case, signing him quickly can help to provide clarity and the wiggle room to bring in some pieces to improve the team.
Unlike in other years where the sides needed to play the cat-and-mouse game of working out a deal, time is of the essence in 2024. Jones needs to win, so do McCarthy and Prescott, and if an extension doesn’t come before free agency opens on March 13, it could signal an enormous flaw in the plans to make 2024 the year that the Cowboys overcome their playoff foibles.
Talk is cheap. The Cowboys need to put their money where their mouth is and re-sign Dak Prescott, even if it means biting the bullet on the going rate for an MVP contender. The quicker, the better for a successful offseason in Dallas.
Do you see the Cowboys getting Dak Prescott signed quickly this offseason? Share your predictions with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
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