DALLAS — Training camp is set to open next week for the Dallas Cowboys, and it has been a good offseason for the organization. The front office made a few key trades to maximize the potential for the 2023 Cowboys and the team managed to bring back all their priority free agents to keep their core intact.
However, not everything that needed to get done was finished. The Cowboys are in good shape for the upcoming campaign, but they still haven’t worked out new contracts with some of their best young players for the future. Dallas is an organization that is known for getting deals done in the summer, so don’t be surprised if one or more of these players get a new deal before the regular season begins, but time is running out to get this business out of the way.
Here are the five players who have earned new deals and should be paid by the Cowboys sooner rather than later:
Dak Prescott
Surprise, the franchise quarterback is already in line for an extension just two years into his mega deal. This is exactly what Prescott and his representatives wanted when they negotiated a four-year extension in 2021, a chance to cash in again.
For the Cowboys, they are also back in the same spot. They need to keep the QB around to give themselves the best chance at winning the Super Bowl. The huge difference this time around is Prescott cannot be tagged as a franchise player by the Cowboys, so the clock is ticking on getting a new deal done.
The pressure is on the front office to make it happen, and soon.
If there’s no new contract before the season and Prescott plays 2023 on his current deal, the QB could be heading into next offseason on essentially the dreaded one-year deal and the Cowboys would have no guarantees to keep him after that. That could drive Prescott’s price even higher than the team is comfortable with, especially considering there are other QBs about to get paid.
The Cowboys and Prescott have done this before, it ended with Prescott getting more than expected. The Joneses do not want to go down that road again, and the best way to avoid that is to sign Prescott quickly.
Trevon Diggs
Another player that the Cowboys are in dangerous territory with is their ball hawking cornerback. Diggs is a second-round pick in his fourth year, so he’s in the last season of the deal he signed as a rookie. In his first three seasons, Diggs is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions with 17, was an All-Pro in 2021 and is a two-time Pro Bowl CB.
His play is recognized as a top 10 CB, recently ranking eighth in a poll of league coaches and executives.
Those accolades also make him extremely underpaid, and due for a massive raise. Diggs will be just 25-years old this upcoming season and is expected to make his way into the top-tier of highest paid corners. Currently, three CBs make over $20 million annually and seven in total earn over $17.25 million on a per year basis.
When you’re as good as Diggs is, as well as the next man up to get paid, it usually means you’ll be rewarded with a deal near the top of the market. Doing a deal now with Diggs will be for top-of-the-line money, but it beats the alternative. Waiting until after the season, where Diggs can continue to improve and add to his mantle of awards, will likely cost even more.
If no deal is done this season, Diggs would hit free agency next offseason, a place where the team also doesn’t want to be. That could mean a bidding war or the franchise tag, which was at over $18 million this year and going up.
The time is now to get a deal done with one of the best CBs in the league, and he’s only getting better.
CeeDee Lamb
Although his contract situation allows the Cowboys more flexibility – the team exercised his fifth-year option – Lamb should remain in the forefront of their minds. Dallas’ top pick in the 2020 draft is under contract for two more seasons, but Dallas shouldn’t wait to get a deal done. The cost for keeping a No. #1 WR continues to get more expensive, so opting to extend Lamb now makes sense.
Any concerns about Lamb being a top WR in the game were erased last season when he set career-high marks in every category, despite being the focus of every defense. At just 24-years old, the Cowboys have an ascending receiver who is about to come into his prime, waiting to pay him will cost them money.
There are currently 13 WRs in the league who make over $20 million per year, and all of them are 26 or older. Lamb outperformed most of the highest paid receivers in the game last season, and if he duplicates his success during the 2023 campaign, his price will skyrocket.
Dallas is better off working a deal out now, or soon, to pay one of the NFL’s best WRs.
Terence Steele
While the emerging right tackle rehabs and works back into shape from his torn ACL, the Cowboys were reportedly trying to work out a long-term deal. The team placed a second-round tender on Steele at $4.3 million as a possible placeholder for a lengthier contract, but it hasn’t been worked out yet.
Still, the tender and commitment show how much the Cowboys value Steele. The 26-year-old has turned himself from an undrafted free agent fighting for a roster spot into a starting RT who has started 40 games since entering the league. Steele is among the best run blocking offensive linemen in the game and his play allowed the team to move on from La’el Collins last season without skipping a beat.
The cost to keep Steele won’t be as high as it will be to retain any of the big three listed above, but the Cowboys will need to make a sizable financial commitment to keep him. Steele is under contract for this season, but if they are serious about keeping him for the future, the time is now to get it done. Another year of solid play could push the team out of Steele’s price range, especially with other contracts that need to get done.
Tyler Biadasz
Most Cowboys fans talk about Prescott, Diggs, Lamb, and Steele, but omit their starting center when discussing upcoming deals. Even a new contract for Micah Parsons is brought up before Biadasz’s name gets mentioned and that’s a mistake.
Biadasz went to his first Pro Bowl last season, and he hasn’t given up a sack in the last two years. Biadasz is also a solid technician and run blocker who makes the offensive line calls that helps Dallas’ offense thrive. The 25-year-old center has started 33 of the last 34 games and become a stalwart for a unit that’s had injuries and been in flux over the past few seasons.
Biadasz is one of the more underrated players in the league and shouldn’t break the bank in Dallas. The Cowboys currently don’t have another option nearly as good as Biadasz and he should be one of the priorities to get an extension as he enters the fourth season of his career.
Which players are you hoping to see the Cowboys lock up long term? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter @BenGrimaldi.
