I have consistently opposed Dak getting his last contract for $40 million over 4 years with a no trade clause. I would not have done it and I would have let Dak walk in 2021 before I would give him that deal. Jerry franchised him then and should have sought a trade rather than make that deal. I have been firm in my objections. Not only was he not worth the $40 million then, but for only 4 years it guaranteed Dak would be back at the table demanding even more money as we expect he will this year. IMO opinion, as I expressed then, Dak never proved he was worth that kind of money, and the 2019 December Eagles game was a big red flag for me. If Jerry was going to give Dak $40 million, he should have held out for an 8 year agreement so he would not be facing what he is facing now. At least then the $40 million over 8 years would not put the Cowboys in a CAP nightmare. And he never should have agree to a no trade clause.
However, that was then. This is now. Dak got his deal. Jerry restructured it a couple of times pushing $36 MM into voidable years and there is no way around taking a huge CAP hit(dead money) unless Dak gets an extension. Jerry has the same decision now he had in 2021 except he can't trade Dak, he can't put a franchise tag on him, he really can't restructure his deal anymore, and he has no real backup plan. In 2021 if Jerry had traded Dak for a couple of first round picks, I think we would all have been okay. Today, we can cut Dak and get nothing for him, eat $62 MM in dead money while we are $20 MM over the CAP,or we can play him one more year with the same CAP implications, or restructure him pushing more of his salary into the voidable years which we will eat in 2025 if we move on from him, or we extend him and get a huge CAP save in 2024 so we can get under the CAP and begin to sign new players - going all in.
Without extending Dak and CeeDee there will be no going all in. If we don't extend Dak, we may as well cut him now because they really can't play him with him knowing he is gone after this year. And, btw, I am not sure CeeDee will agree to an extension either. If that happens, we are forced to pay him $17MM this year against the CAP, and he becomes a free agent at the end of the year. Without CeeDee's extension, making any all-in moves becomes more unlikely.
And if they do cut him loose and go with another QB, what are the options? Trey Lance who lost his job in SF to Brock Purdy and Sam Darnold? a rookie we draft at 24 in the first round? sign a free agent? Who? Josh Dobbs? Kirk Cousins? Sam Darnold? Moving on from Dak means losing seasons for at least the next couple of years, maybe a lot longer. Look at all the teams who drafted QBs and got nowhere. bu,bu,but CJ Stroud?
I just do not understand the logic of people who say they would rather lose constantly as long as Dak is not on the team, than have winning seasons with Dak and at least have a chance to win in the playoffs. I am not crazy about Dak, but I do not want to go through another period of losing seasons because we can't find a QB.
