News: PFT: Cowboys clearly traded for Trey Lance with an eye toward Dak Prescott's future

[CowboyRoy]

I’m wondering if back to back losses to the 49ers crushed Jerry. The way Dak played in those games was less than desirable. Maybe his play in those games put doubt in Jerry’s mind.

I see 2 scenarios that can play out that pushes Dak out the door. One is Dak continues his streak of having at least 1 TO every other game and we don’t make the playoffs. The other scenario is we make the playoffs and Dak plays poorly.

The scenario I see Dak definitely staying is we get past the divisional round. Me personally, I just assume build for the future if Dak doesn’t deliver this season in the playoffs. If he doesn’t deliver this year I feel the playoff sample size is big enough to make a decision on.

Do you dream about these failures every night? Lol

 

[Stash]

I’m wondering if back to back losses to the 49ers crushed Jerry. The way Dak played in those games was less than desirable. Maybe his play in those games put doubt in Jerry’s mind.

I see 2 scenarios that can play out that pushes Dak out the door. One is Dak continues his streak of having at least 1 TO every other game and we don’t make the playoffs. The other scenario is we make the playoffs and Dak plays poorly.

The scenario I see Dak definitely staying is we get past the divisional round. Me personally, I just assume build for the future if Dak doesn’t deliver this season in the playoffs. If he doesn’t deliver this year I feel the playoff sample size is big enough to make a decision on.

Exactly! I’m not rooting for Dak to fail. Quite the opposite in fact. I hope and feel that he’s going to have a great, bounce-back season. Anything less than the NFC Championship Game will be a disappointment for me.

And as I’ve repeatedly said, if he plays well, pay the man!

But if he doesn’t? Why would you?

He’s got the offensive weapons now, no excuses there.

And he’s got a top defense supporting him as well. No excuses there either.

The pieces are in place.

Win.

 

[plymkr]

Exactly! I’m not rooting for Dak to fail. Quite the opposite in fact. I hope and feel that he’s going to have a great, bounce-back season. Anything less than the NFC Championship Game will be a disappointment for me.

And as I’ve repeatedly said, if he plays well, pay the man!

But if he doesn’t? Why would you?

He’s got the offensive weapons now, no excuses there.

And he’s got a top defense supporting him as well. No excuses there either.

The pieces are in place.

Win.

Right! I want to get past the divisional round. If Dak is the man and does it then pay him. If he flames out again then I feel we got to work towards the future. I’m a Cowboys fan, regardless who is under center I just want to win. This is the best roster we have had in years, maybe decades, barring injury the QB should thrive on this team. If Dak thrives, then pay him and let’s win. But just win! Like you said: Win

 

[PAPPYDOG]

With our defense and by next season even Trey (Not a gimp and stronger arm) can take us to the NFCCG.....................................

 

[Chuck 54]

I love Dak Prescott as my Cowboys QB.
He performed inconsistently and was poor regarding INTs last season for the first time in his career. Most people who understand football, including Mike McCarthy, know the offense was hampered by poor wr play and lack of OL depth.

So what happened?

In free agency and the draft, the Cowboys did what they’d previously done with the safety position. Suddenly the WR position is so good and so deep that there are WRs who probably won’t make it to the PS. While the OL is still nerve-wracking regarding starting quality depth, it’s better. We have young guys we are excited about, and those youngsters played the whole preseason, improving every game. We also made a very good defense even better at CB, Safety, and DL.

Dak doesn’t have to single-handedly carry us to the NFC championship. Few teams have a QB who can win at that level if the rest of the team plays poorly, so I’m not judging Dak by the eventual outcome of the season, BUT…..If Dak is the weak link, if Dak turns the ball over with bad INTs again this year with this team, then I would not extend his contract. I don’t need to see him be perfect or overcome everyone else’s mistakes (I’m thinking the ‘94 loss to SF inthe NFC title game when turnovers in the first quarter was our undoing even with Aikman, Emmitt, and Irvin). But I need to see “Good Dak” because if the OL and starting wideouts stay relatively healthy, there’s no way to excuse Dak being even part of the problem.
I believe Dak will be at his best this season, which isn’t in the Mahommes tier, but if Dak is at HIS best with the playmakers around him and a decent OL, this team should go deeper into the playoffs.

 

[BleedSilverandBlue]

For me, whether you love your QB or not, it would be incredibly short-sighted to not be continually looking down the road. No one plays forever. Some guys wash out. Some get priced out. Some just grow old and retire. But, not constantly looking forward as far as you can see at the most important position on the team would be really dumb.

I don't hate Dak or love him. I've been disappointed. But he's better than most of the QB's out there. Still, I'm one for drafting a mid-round QB every other year or so. I would never rest when it comes to looking for QB talent.

Picking up a 23 year old with enormous potential for next year's 4th? I want the team leveraging Dak's future.

Precisely how we all should be viewing this move. Do you think Dallas was imminently trying to run Romo out of town when they took Dak in the 4th round back in 2016? No, but fate had a way of forcing him onto the field earlier than expected, and the Cowboys were very fortunate to have had him on the roster.

In an ideal world, Trey Lance never starts for the Dallas Cowboys because Dak finally gets the job done, but perhaps you may end up needing him.

 

[Captain-Crash]

I hope we don't lose dak, it would be hard taking down his pictures in the bedroom. The ones on the ceiling will be even harder.

 

[TwistedL0g1k]

The structure of Dak's current contract is a towering monument to idiocracy. A staggering example of poor cap management.

Just restructure you say? That only changes the timing, and Dak has all the leverage now in negotiations.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

The dead money is there regardless. And the hit would come it at 10th for 2024.

And as I’ve repeatedly said, Lance would have to show something to the organization by that point in time.

No I’m not at all. Show me and everyone else where I ever said that.

You’re resorting to a Strawman argument.

It's not dead money if the player is actually on the team. 10th is near the top, and that's before any of the QBs above that restructure. It will likely be closer to top 5.

Yes, you are. Just saying "if he proves it" is flawed logic, because he can't do that until 2024. In which case, you've already committed to him in 2025 via 5th-year or massive contract extension.

This is what you're trying to do:

2023: Dak + Lance ($28m)
2024: Lance + Dead Money ($30m)
2025a: Lance 5th year + Dead Money ($45m) - assumes 5th year $20m value
2025b: Rookie + Dead Money ($30m+)
2025c: UFA + Dead Money ($50m)

Letting Dak go is a commitment to Lance because you either have to exercise his 5th-year next May or be prepared to pay him something like $40m per year in 2025. You're never saving money by cutting Dak, but you are committing to Lance because you'd have no flexibility to do anything otherwise.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

The structure of Dak's current contract is a towering monument to idiocracy. A staggering example of poor cap management.

Just restructure you say? That only changes the timing, and Dak has all the leverage now in negotiations.

See also: Every quarterback.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

So hypothetically speaking, Dak has a similar high INT total as last season and plays poorly in the playoffs which means an early exit for Dallas.....do you, based on that scenario (or worse, Dak plays poorly and Dallas misses the playoffs or he gets hurt and misses a lot of the season), still see Dak being extended????

Yes. His performance, as it relates to INTs, wasn't bad last year. His turnover-worthy play rate was low, he was mostly just unlucky.

I'd extend him this fall, well before playoffs. His price isn't going to go down, but if you wait until next offseason, it's going to go way, way up.

 

[Stash]

It's not dead money if the player is actually on the team. 10th is near the top, and that's before any of the QBs above that restructure. It will likely be closer to top 5.

It’s dead money regardless of anything they do with Prescott. He costs that much on or off the roster. They kicked the van and the bill’s come due.

Yes, you are. Just saying "if he proves it" is flawed logic, because he can't do that until 2024. In which case, you've already committed to him in 2025 via 5th-year or massive contract extension.

2023 is the prove it year.

This is what you're trying to do:

2023: Dak + Lance ($28m)
2024: Lance + Dead Money ($30m)
2025a: Lance 5th year + Dead Money ($45m) - assumes 5th year $20m value
2025b: Rookie + Dead Money ($30m+)
2025c: UFA + Dead Money ($50m)

Letting Dak go is a commitment to Lance because you either have to exercise his 5th-year next May or be prepared to pay him something like $40m per year in 2025. You're never saving money by cutting Dak, but you are committing to Lance because you'd have no flexibility to do anything otherwise.

I’m committing to Lance if he shows me enough this year. And if Dak struggles again and shows he’s not worthy of a contract extension. It’s not hard to figure out.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

It’s dead money regardless of anything they do with Prescott. He costs that much on or off the roster. They kicked the van and the bill’s come due.

2023 is the prove it year.


I’m committing to Lance if he shows me enough this year. And if Dak struggles again and shows he’s not worthy of a contract extension. It’s not hard to figure out.

It's not dead money if it is going to a player who is on the roster. It's a sunk cost, maybe, but there's a huge difference between $25m to your starting QB and $25m to someone else's starting QB.

Lance will have no opportunity to prove anything this year. In your scenario, he'd have to, somehow, start a bunch of games in the regular season AND make a run in the playoffs lol. There's no scenario where that happens.

"Worthy of a contract extension" isn't tied to how he performs this year in the playoffs. They will extend him because it doesn't make any mathematical sense not to. You don't save anything - if anything, you make your QB room far more expensive.

Your logic is distanced from any sense of reality.

 

[DallasInDC]

You just spelled it out.

If Lance shows any signs of being capable by the end of this season, you can move on and you’re ultimately paying $40 million for the quarterback position.

$20 million Less than what Dak’s 2024 hit ALONE would be.

How do you expect Trey to show anything this year...the only snaps he will get will be on the scout squad. Not enough to make any real determination of what we have with him. With a $59mm cap hit in 2024, we will not know enough about Trey to take that type of cap hit and jeopardize the window of one of our deepest teams in nearly 30 Years v

 

[Stash]

It's not dead money if it is going to a player who is on the roster. It's a sunk cost, maybe, but there's a huge difference between $25m to your starting QB and $25m to someone else's starting QB.

Lance will have no opportunity to prove anything this year. In your scenario, he'd have to, somehow, start a bunch of games in the regular season AND make a run in the playoffs lol. There's no scenario where that happens.

I’m fine with the term sunk cost. I’m not tied up on semantics. Potato potAHto.

"Worthy of a contract extension" isn't tied to how he performs this year in the playoffs. They will extend him because it doesn't make any mathematical sense not to. You don't save anything - if anything, you make your QB room far more expensive.

Your logic is distanced from any sense of reality.

Pout about it if you need to. But you need to separate your opinions from facts.

 

[Stash]

How do you expect Trey to show anything this year...the only snaps he will get will be on the scout squad. Not enough to make any real determination of what we have with him. With a $59mm cap hit in 2024, we will not know enough about Trey to take that type of cap hit and jeopardize the window of one of our deepest teams in nearly 30 Years v

Because they’ll see him in every practice and meeting.

Meetings will show how he’s coming along mentally and practice will see how he’s developing physically.

There’s far more opportunities there than in live game action.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

I’m fine with the term sunk cost. I’m not tied up on semantics. Potato potAHto.


Pout about it if you need to. But you need to separate your opinions from facts.

I'm sorry what facts are you presenting? Opinions should always be tied to facts lol

Fact - it is more expensive to cut Dak than extend him.

 

[Mac_MaloneV1]

Because they’ll see him in every practice and meeting.

Meetings will show how he’s coming along mentally and practice will see how he’s developing physically.

There’s far more opportunities there than in live game action.

So you're saying that he can earn a contract in practice? You'd be comfortable giving him a contract extension (5th year or otherwise) without playing, and make your QB room considerably more expensive?

How is that the logic, when the logic for Dak is "he hasn't done in enough in the playoffs?" It doesn't make any sense.

 

[Stash]

I'm sorry what facts are you presenting? Opinions should always be tied to facts lol

Fact - it is more expensive to cut Dak than extend him.

Not factual whatsoever.

In fact that’s the total opposite of being a fact. It’s not true at all.

 

[DallasInDC]

Because they’ll see him in every practice and meeting.

Meetings will show how he’s coming along mentally and practice will see how he’s developing physically.

There’s far more opportunities there than in live game action.

He has so much learning and growth to do just to justify him passing Rush let alone competing with Dak...it's not going to happen in this season. It's not like you have an experienced NFL QB...he is literally still just a rookie trying to overtake a top 8-10 NFL QB. No matter how many of the anybody but Dak fans want this to happen..if he wwas able to do thar, he would have beat out Darnold and Purdy.