CFZ The murky thinking behind the Trey Lance trade

[JustChip]

We don't know what we don't know. Stranger things have happened. I admit this is an uncomfortable position for most fans to be in. Many have still not been able to understand what's going on here. The Cowboys since Jerry bought the team have always been of the business model to win as many games as possible during the regular season and let the chips fall where they may after that. The chips that fall from that are an early exit in the playoffs if you make it that far and a poor draft position every year. So that appears to be coming to an end. The Cowboys are "all in" for 2024. Fail and this whole thing blows up. Dak and MM will be gone. Where they go from there, no one knows.

I’m ok with the first priority being winning enough in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. After all, no Super Bowl winner has come from no-playoff teams. Add to that, I’m a season ticket holder and the return in my investment, time and money, is a successful regular season. Or at least the 8/9 home games. 1989 and the Campo years were no fun.

 

[LACowboysFan1]

Seems pretty clear to me it's just another Jerry "I'm smarter than any other gm in the NFL, you fools can't see Lance is a future HOFer, but I can, and I'll show you all I'm right" move.

Same as with Jaylon Smith, Randy Gregory, Gavin Escobar, Kavika Pittman and some others.

Nothing more than that, imho....

 

[Bobhaze]

The Cowboys cannot trade or tag Dak Prescott.

They can’t tag him. But they can trade him. Has to be to a team with Dak’s approval. That term “no trade clause” is misleading because if Dak, the Cowboys and a trade partner can agree on terms then he can be traded.

What Dak does have is the power to say, “I don’t want to be traded there.”

 

[Chasing6]

They can’t tag him. But they can trade him. Has to be to a team with Dak’s approval. That term “no trade clause” is misleading because if Dak, the Cowboys and a trade partner can agree on terms then he can be traded.

What Dak does have is the power to say, “I don’t want to be traded there.”

Which means he is untradeable.

 

[Bobhaze]

Which means he is untradeable.

It does make it more difficult. But if Dak and the team want a trade it can happen.

 

[Chasing6]

It does make it more difficult. But if Dak and the team want a trade it can happen.

Only way he is tradeable is if he is unhappy, and asks for a trade. That is not going to happen.

 

[Bobhaze]

Which means he is untradeable.

Didn't stop Seahawks trading Russell Wilson with his no trade clause to broncos. Or Deshaun Watson who had a no trade clause with Texans being traded to Cle. Difficult? Yes. Untradeable? No.

And yes the player has to agree to trade. Again, not impossible.

 

[Chasing6]

Didn't stop Seahawks trading Russell Wilson with his no trade clause to broncos. Or Deshaun Watson who had a no trade clause with Texans being traded to Cle. Difficult? Yes. Untradeable? No.

And yes the player has to agree to trade. Again, not impossible.

That typically takes place when your QB is unhappy and you already have a replacement in mind. We do not have either situation.

 

[KingCorcoran]

Didn't stop Seahawks trading Russell Wilson with his no trade clause to broncos. Or Deshaun Watson who had a no trade clause with Texans being traded to Cle. Difficult? Yes. Untradeable? No.

And yes the player has to agree to trade. Again, not impossible.

Watson and Wilson wanted to be traded. They agreed to the trades after the Browns and Broncos worked out mega contracts with them. Dak does not want to be traded, and he’s going to get more money from the Cowboys than Watson and Wilson got. He’s with the team he wants to play for and knows he’s going to get a contract that makes him the highest paid player ever in NFL. Nothing is impossible, but suggesting a team is going to reach out and offer him that kind of money AND give the Cowboys anything for the right to do it is a new level of absurd thinking.

 

[Chasing6]

Watson and Wilson wanted to be traded. They agreed to the trades after the Browns and Broncos worked out mega contracts with them. Dak does not want to be traded, and he’s going to get more money from the Cowboys than Watson and Wilson got. He’s with the team he wants to play for and knows he’s going to get a contract that makes him the highest paid player ever in NFL. Nothing is impossible, but suggesting a team is going to reach out and offer him that kind of money AND give the Cowboys anything for the right to do it is a new level of absurd thinking.

I don't even believe a team is allowed to reach out, unless he requests permission for a trade.

 

[big dog cowboy]

As much as the Dak haters don't want to admit it, the Cowboys have won a whole bunch of games with him.

That isn't the goal. It drives ratings, sells merch and fills seats. And if your lucky, a ball cap for winning the division.

Winning games in the playoffs is what matters. You know, when Dak has set the NFL record for the worst playoff record.

 

[Chasing6]

The Cowboys had Lance graded as a 2nd round prospect when he came out. They got him for a 4th round pick. He’s a bag of tools that needs some more development. I’ve got zero issues with the trade.

If we drafted him in the 4th round in this year’s draft 90% of the board would be fired up with excitement.

But we would have 4 years to evaluate. Comparing a 4th round trade for basically a 1 and half years is not equivalent. Also the timing of both contracts basically expiring at the same time offers zero leverage.

 

[ShiningStar]

I Am usually anit Jerry or anit Stephen, but this wasnt a bad trade, if it worked out, young QB on the roster, if not, not the worst trade ever.

its still and always will be a QB driven league.

 

[Chasing6]

I Am usually anit Jerry or anit Stephen, but this wasnt a bad trade, if it worked out, young QB on the roster, if not, not the worst trade ever.

its still and always will be a QB driven league.

Explain to me how it possibly could work out?

You think they will cut Dak?

You think they will pick up Trances 5th year option at $25M?

You think they will ride out Dak's last year and let him walk? Then resign and start Trance?

You think we will extend Dak and play Trance?

You think Dak is going to ask for a trade?

Please explain how this is could possible work out in any scenario other than Dak getting hit by a bus.

This was doomed to fail day 1. Dak will be resigned and the Trance mistake will be over with, unless he wants to be a long term back up.

 

[PAPPYDOG]

Explain to me how it possibly could work out?

You think they will cut Dak?

You think they will pick up Trances 5th year option at $25M?

You think they will ride out Dak's last year and let him walk? Then resign and start Trance?

You think we will extend Dak and play Trance?

You think Dak is going to ask for a trade?

Please explain how this is could possible work out in any scenario other than Dak getting hit by a bus.

This was doomed to fail day 1. Dak will be resigned and the Trance mistake will be over with, unless he wants to be a long term back up.

The only way the Lance trade makes sense is if they cut ties with Prescott this Spring.
The rest I leave in the drunken mind of an egomaniac owner named Jerry Jones.

 

[CowboyoWales]

Explain to me how it possibly could work out?

You think they will cut Dak?

You think they will pick up Trances 5th year option at $25M?

You think they will ride out Dak's last year and let him walk? Then resign and start Trance?

You think we will extend Dak and play Trance?

You think Dak is going to ask for a trade?

Please explain how this is could possible work out in any scenario other than Dak getting hit by a bus.

This was doomed to fail day 1. Dak will be resigned and the Trance mistake will be over with, unless he wants to be a long term back up.

None of the above. What's obvious to all is that we can't afford to pay Dak a CAP hit of $59m (in 2024) and that Dak's getting paid $34m cash, so France hold's all the negotiating cards . The Jones' go into the negotiations saying "we good, cut you post-June and we'll play Rush as QB1" France dies laughing. Lance may not provide the greatest negotiating strategy, it's at least a viable option...."we're going to try him, now he's fit, see whether he's got it."
Lance is being used as a chip in case negotiating meetings go appallingly and France/Dak's demands are too unrealistic and we do decide to post-June him.

 

[Chasing6]

According to you right?

Who was the emergency QB all year long???

 

[Chasing6]

The hate for Dak is that he is not cut out for the big games, That's my issue with him.

I don't see how you can hate on GM Jerry making a high risk/high reward trade. You gotta gamble sometimes to hit on something.

The niners didn't have time to groom him is the problem. They thought he would be plug and play but he is lacking in experience so that on them.

So you think him sitting on the bench is getting him more experience?

 

[cowboyed]

Dude you had me until the Cooper rush comment he is not a starter he's not truly even one of the better backups we saw from 2023 me literally look how many backups had to come in and play some of the retreads like Joe Flacco play way better than Cooper rush... Cooper rush is the most overrated player on our team he goes five and one and yet people literally just gloss over the fact that he wasn't that good when he played we saw it he wasn't even safe with the football that's like the comment the man plays within the offense no he doesn't there's no evidence of that at all he played well enough while the team was smoking hot around him to win a game but still had our offense in the bottom ten of the league in almost every category....


Cooper rush wouldn't is never gonna get a starting opportunity let's just be real... But he could be traded for a backup position but the fact is no other team has ever taken him off our practice squad or when he was a free agent to even bring him in as a backup that is because they actually watched film differently then fat Cowboys fans who watch through they wanna get rid of DAK and think Cooper rush is better than Prescott.

So the better plan would be just to outright release Cooper rush after camp if you can't get a trade for him and give Trey his chance... In my opinion if we lost Prescott for a majority of the season like 10 games or out for the season,​

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I don't care who your backup is we're probably not going anywhere so why not give Trey Lance all those games to develop and see what he's really got on whether you want to keep them in 2025 and beyond?? We already know what Cooper rush is he's a very average to below average back up they can win you a game or two if everything else is like smoking hot around him... There is no way last season if Cooper rush was starting without that run game the offensive line being shaky the defense finding ways to lose games he would have struggled to win one game...​

There could be teams that might consider Rush if they lost or benched their starter if he became a free agent. I should have clarified as a replacement or interim starting quarterback. I was thinking of him being a journeyman type quarterback. I agree that he is not a long term starting quarterback, he is talent limited but competent enough to help you win a handful of games at best.

 

[DuncanIso]

None of the above. What's obvious to all is that we can't afford to pay Dak a CAP hit of $59m (in 2024) and that Dak's getting paid $34m cash, so France hold's all the negotiating cards . The Jones' go into the negotiations saying "we good, cut you post-June and we'll play Rush as QB1" France dies laughing. Lance may not provide the greatest negotiating strategy, it's at least a viable option...."we're going to try him, now he's fit, see whether he's got it."
Lance is being used as a chip in case negotiating meetings go appallingly and France/Dak's demands are too unrealistic and we do decide to post-June him.

Truth.

And Lance can play ball too.