With training camp less than a week away, the Dallas Cowboys still find themselves with a big question mark around Dak Prescott’s future. He’s entering the final year of his contract and the franchise cannot place the franchise tag on him after this season, meaning he’ll need a new deal to stay in Dallas.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler provided an update on where things stand on Friday evening’s edition of SportsCenter. He indicated it could take a little more time for the two sides to come together.
The quarterback market took a big leap this year, especially after Trevor Lawrence joined Joe Burrow as the only $55 million per year players. But there are still two more dominoes left to fall – one in Green Bay and another in Miami – before Prescott signs a new contract with the Cowboys.
“The Cowboys have had talks with Dak Prescott and his representatives,” Fowler said. “They’ve made clear to Dak even months ago, ‘You will be a priority. We don’t want you to do the free agency song and dance,’ and all that. Part of what could be in play here is the deck has not been cleared because you have other quarterbacks that still need to sign – Jordan Love in Green Bay, Tua [Tagoaviloa] in Miami.
“Dak very possibly could be waiting to bat cleanup here and come in at the end to get this done. The Cowboys know that, and so, there’s sort of this quiet, silence right now. Meanwhile, the price goes up.”
Prescott signed his current contract – worth four years and $160 million – ahead of the 2021 season, meaning he’s looking at free agency after this season if he and the Cowboys don’t agree on a new deal. He set a new career-high for completions last season as he threw for 4,516 yards – his most since 2019 – and an NFL-leading 36 touchdowns in 2023.
Still, the Cowboys are optimistic a deal will come together, and executive vice president Stephen Jones reiterated that during an appearance on Chase Daniel and Dianna Russini’s Scoop City podcast. Jones believes the team will have to make sacrifices regardless of when Dak Prescott signs, but he pointed out other teams – specifically a certain back-to-back Super Bowl champion in Kansas City – handled that situation well.
“We know what happens to teams when they have these high-priced quarterbacks at some point it’s a challenge to keep everybody,” Jones said. “The Chiefs are an example of that but they were able to survive not keeping Tyreek Hill and let some other top players, I think they let one of the top corners go after this season. You have to make some tough choices along the way. But we’re optimistic that we can do that. We’ll continue to grind away.”
