Are Cowboys waiting to see Lance?

   

Are the Cowboys waiting to see what they have in Trey Lance before signing Dak Prescott? – Jeffrey Alcock/Mt. Juliet, TN

07_02_mailbag

Nick Eatman: I'm sure the Cowboys would never say it that way. But I think there's some truth to that. More than anything, let's remember how this team operates with contracts. Unless, the deal just makes a lot of sense and they want to go ahead, they really don't rush to sign their own players if there's no deadline. That's not to say they wait until the last hour every time, but if there's not a pressing need to do it, then they typically wait. It's really the same philosophy we see on Draft Day. They know who they want to pick but they like to wait and use all of the time on the clock just to see if the situation changes. And it's no different here. I think they're waiting on a few things regarding Dak, and one of them could be Lance and how he plays. The other is probably Dak, and how this season goes. So if they don't feel the need to get it done before we start camp, then I could say this playing out into the regular season and maybe all the way until the end. How Lance performs is a factor, but not the only one.

Kurt Daniels: More and more that kind of seems to be the case, but how exactly will it work? What if Lance shines in the preseason? Do you then hand the reins back over to Prescott once the regular season starts? Do you bench last season's MVP runner-up just to see how Lance handles things when the games are for real and all the starters are actually playing? And what if Lance isn't what they hoped? Is Prescott going to be thrilled about re-signing with a team that showed no confidence? Then where does that leave Dallas? Back at square one and facing potential quarterback purgatory? There's really no way to see what they truly have in Lance without it affecting Prescott somehow, meaning the Cowboys may not have the luxury of "waiting to see." Their hand could be forced where they have to pick one or the other and live with it. Hope for the best with the cheaper option, or pay the hefty salary of a top-10 quarterback. It seems an impossible situation, and makes you wonder if they now regret giving up that fourth-round pick to acquire Lance.