The Dallas Cowboys could soon be forced to prepare for life without Dak Prescott.
It’s no secret that Prescott is entering the final year of his contract with the Cowboys. While Dallas remains adamant that the plan is to sign the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback to a long-term contract extension, there’s no guarantee that will happen.
With Dallas not featuring a single quarterback under contract for the 2024 season, they could be forced to look for potential replacement options. As K.D. Drummond of Cowboys Wire proposes, Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa could be a potential “franchise” quarterback replacement for Prescott.
As Drummond mentions, Tagovailoa is also entering the final year of his rookie contract, with the Dolphins and Tagovailoa having yet to agree on a new deal. Drummond even proposes that Prescott sign with the Dolphins in a free agency swap of quarterbacks.
“So why would Miami let him go? The Dolphins seem like the perfect fit if Prescott is looking for a landing spot in 2025 free agency, so maybe there’s a QB shuffle between the two teams in free agency,” writes Drummond.
Tua Tagovailoa May Be AFC’s Version of Dak Prescott
The 26-year-old Tagovailoa has been a winning quarterback since entering the league in 2020. In fact, he’s had a winning record in all four of his seasons as a starter, going 32-19 while leading Miami to the playoffs in each of the past two years. In fact, Tagovailoa has the sixth-most wins of any quarterback since the 2020 season.
However, it appears Miami has reached a certain ceiling with Tagovailoa at quarterback. The Dolphins not only lost in resounding fashion to the Kansas City Chiefs in their playoff game last season, Tagovailoa appears to have difficulty beating the best teams in the NFL. At the end of last season, the Tagovailoa-led Dolphins lost both games against the Baltimore Ravens and the Buffalo Bills — with AFC seeding and a division crown on the line — by a combined score of 77-33.
Tagovailoa also struggles in a major way during cold weather games, which is a major issue during the playoffs in January. As Jacob Camenker of The Sporting News pointed out before the playoff game against the Chiefs, Tagovailoa is 0-6 in games at or below 45 degrees. With the loss to Kansas City, Tagovailoa is now 0-7 in such games.
While Tagovailoa certainly doesn’t have the playoff experience that Prescott has — Prescott has started seven playoff games — the perception of the Dolphins quarterback is very much the same as the Cowboys passer in that they struggle to beat the elite opponents of the league.
Why Tua Tagovailoa Could Be Option in 2025
Similar to how Prescott led the league in touchdown passes last year, Tagovailoa has also led the league in major passing categories such as passing yards and passer rating. One major difference is that Tagovailoa is five years younger than Prescott. One could argue that the potential is still there for Tagovailoa to develop into more than what he’s shown thus far.
Obviously, time will dictate whether or not the Cowboys end up getting a deal done with Prescott. However, if the dominoes fall into place and both the Dolphins and Cowboys end up allowing their quarterbacks to hit free agency, Tagovailoa would be a solid replacement option for Prescott.
