Playing "tag", the team can keep Prescott for the next three years for less than $70 million in total. I'm not giving away that huge advantage to rush to pay him $90 million-plus over that same time period. I'd be perfectly content to let things play out and see where things stand in 2022. I wonder if Dak and his agent are quite so willing?
People want to try to use the Commanders and Cousins as some cautionary tale for using the tag, but looking at things strictly for what Cousins costs and has accomplished? Washington was right not to give him that huge deal. He took the Vikings from a Super Bowl contender to missing the playoffs. And his record against winning teams is atrocious. If anything, it looks like Minnesota has buyers remorse for guaranteeing that deal.
Teams that are paying these quarterbacks huge money have had to clean house around them:
- Green Bay with Cobb and Jordy Nelson
- Pittsburgh with Antonio Brown and Bell
- Seattle trading away Frank Clark after losing the Legion of Boom
That's not a model that I would choose to follow.