What options do Cowboys have to move on from Prescott?

[rnr_honeybadger]

Nice post well done, If Jerry believes Dak is the QB to take them to the SB in spite of his dismal performances in the playoffs (which I for one believe he does) then the extension is coming and it’s what will happen imho. The option of just letting the last year of his contract play out with the last year of MM contract and adjust the roster to suit the cap and let Dak and MM prove their worth is definitely a high position to consider. I would ask Dak to wave the no trade clause, if he will not save the money and move on. Jerry has “all in” so to me it’s easy to read the cards Dak gets the big extension and Dallas suffers more years of failure and all we will hear is the championship caliber team Jerry has constructed again and he’s happy Dak is here long term. Unfortunately like some here Jerry just can’t see Dak for what he really is, a good QB who comes up short against good teams. As for pro bowl being the 6th alternate doesn’t mean anything. If Jerry is only concerned about relevancy and beating sub par teams Daks his guy if winning a SB is his real goal then moving on from Dak sooner rather than later should be the only consideration at this point. Jerry and Stevie’s lack of player evaluation and horrible contract management has put them in a corner and unfortunately they won’t fight like a cornered rat they will fold like a cheap tent and take the easy way out. Wonder where the Cowboys would have been if they didn’t move on from championship caliber QBs like Meredith and a SB QB like Morton. Let’s keep the the QB who can’t get it done in the the playoffs after 8 seasons, brilliant just brilliant. Glad I never worked for a company that kept underperforming people and made them the highest paid employee. All businesses are performance based except the Dallas Cowboys who only consideration seems to be relevantly so good enough is the bye word.

The time for "all in" was when Dak was still on his rookie deal. That was the window. If they were serious about making a SB run it should have been then. Instead they did nothing but say they liked their guys and kept at it.

 

[Diehardblues]

Cousins would come cheaper than Dak - the money they save they could invest around Cousins making the team better.

That’s definitely an option out there. Just don’t think our owner will think that’s an upgrade or worthy of entertaining.

 

[Diehardblues]

The time for "all in" was when Dak was still on his rookie deal. That was the window. If they were serious about making a SB run it should have been then. Instead they did nothing but say they liked their guys and kept at it.

And this is just an extension of that.

What fans frustratingly miss is our owner sees this as a success. Being a consistent playoff team regardless if it chokes in playoffs is a product he can hype and promote.

He’s not about to abort until it begins to nosedive. Fans will need to root for collapse or injury to bring about change.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

And this is just an extension of that.

What fans frustratingly miss is our owner sees this as a success. Being a consistent playoff team regardless if it chokes in playoffs is a product he can hype and promote.

He’s not about to abort until it begins to nosedive.

Exactly. People here talk about success in terms of SB wins. Jerry claims he wants a team to win it all but his actions have shown otherwise.

 

[Brax]

The time for "all in" was when Dak was still on his rookie deal. That was the window. If they were serious about making a SB run it should have been then. Instead they did nothing but say they liked their guys and kept at it.

They tried, in their inept ways, Zeke, Cooper, Jerry just isn’t the football guy he thinks he is, it’s always the “it’s a championship team “ it’s been his way for years and one of those mistakes was the Jason Garrett fiasco. I learned that you just can’t fix stupid.

 

[CWR]

Before any other contract is signed, the Cowboys need to figure out what they want to do with quarterback Dak Prescott, who is entering the final year of his contract with a $59.45 million cap hit and a dead cap value of $61.91 million. The Cowboys cannot realistically construct a winning team with Prescott's contract as it is, so they'll inevitably have to either extend him, trade him, or cut him.


“If we get to March and the Cowboys, for whatever reason, have decided they don't want to extend Prescott… then things get interesting," ESPN's Dan Graziano said. "Prescott's 2024 money is not guaranteed. The Cowboys could cut or trade him prior to paying the March roster bonus and save $34 million on their 2024 cap."
Regardless of the salary cap, there isn't any clear path to a quarterback upgrade for Dallas. Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield will be the headliners of a lackluster free agency, and any trade will likely result in a downgrade at the quarterback position.

Finding a franchise quarterback is a daunting task, and Prescott is a three-time Pro Bowler who just had an All-Pro season despite coming up short in the playoffs again. Only a handful of quarterbacks would represent an obvious upgrade, and none of them will be available for trade. All that leaves are the quarterbacks that Dallas currently has on their roster . San Francisco gladly traded Lance away just two years after spending multiple first-round picks to draft him third overall, so it's unlikely that he's a viable answer.

"The Cowboys know how hard it is to get a good quarterback and Prescott is largely considered a top-10 passer in this league," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said. "So, it would be mildly surprising if they moved on from him, but with that 2-5 playoff record, certainly that could be a negotiating point for Dallas that comes up over the coming months."

Extending Prescott is the most reasonable move if Dallas wants to remain competitive. And remaining relative and competitive is our owners first priority. He appears to be “ All In” on this current core of stars even recently stating we will go as far as Dak takes us.

Also worth noting is in McCarthys lame duck season without a contract extension it’s very doubtful they change QB’s. That leaves us basically negotiating how big and how long the extension.

I've watched this FO operate for far too long to be naive enough to think Dak isn't getting re-signed.

The Trey Lance deal is an outlier and I don't believe he will actually be considered Daks replacement.

Also, Dak and his agent don't give a rats aaa about his lack of playoff success. He negotiated a four year deal while Goff and Wentz and everyone else were getting 5. He did that for one reason only, to go back to the table and double dip.

 

[DenCWBY]

Cowboy fans.

This isn’t about what we think we should do but what options do you think our ownership is looking at.

What the ownership is looking at is the move with the less work, explanation and repercussion as possible.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

They would rather go 5-12 or 8-9 for the next 10 years than stick with Dak and have a chance to do something.

Yes, because without Dak the only option is to go 5-12. Like the team never had a winning season before Dak Prescott put on a #4 jersey and pronounced empty platitudes from a podium.

 

[Aven8]

I assume we will be hearing about an extension in the coming weeks right in time for FA. They have no choice if they want to be all in for this season.

 

[rnr_honeybadger]

They tried, in their inept ways, Zeke, Cooper, Jerry just isn’t the football guy he thinks he is, it’s always the “it’s a championship team “ it’s been his way for years and one of those mistakes was the Jason Garrett fiasco. I learned that you just can’t fix stupid.

yep and has completely ignored the defensive line. How many years has the middle of the line been a rusty turnstile that team after team keeps running up? I mean I get team building takes time but for over a decade they have refused to address the glaring hole in the defensive line. Takes some spectacular incompetence to do that.

 

[Brax]

kirk cousin, mayfield, lance they all suck. there is no where else. I guess we are stuck with one and done playoffs.

If it’s one and done why bother keeping the status quo, no FA QB roll with Lance and see what MM can do with him, you kill 2 birds with one stone, is Lance a viable option and is MM the QB whisper some claim. One and done is not an option for extension when you have some really good players coming up for huge contracts on both sides of the ball. Stuck between a rock and a hard place is the result of brilliant cap management

 

[Brax]

That’s definitely an option out there. Just don’t think our owner will think that’s an upgrade or worthy of entertaining.

As bad as it hurts me to say this, he would be right about KC.

 

[Typhus]

Before any other contract is signed, the Cowboys need to figure out what they want to do with quarterback Dak Prescott, who is entering the final year of his contract with a $59.45 million cap hit and a dead cap value of $61.91 million. The Cowboys cannot realistically construct a winning team with Prescott's contract as it is, so they'll inevitably have to either extend him, trade him, or cut him.


“If we get to March and the Cowboys, for whatever reason, have decided they don't want to extend Prescott… then things get interesting," ESPN's Dan Graziano said. "Prescott's 2024 money is not guaranteed. The Cowboys could cut or trade him prior to paying the March roster bonus and save $34 million on their 2024 cap."
Regardless of the salary cap, there isn't any clear path to a quarterback upgrade for Dallas. Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield will be the headliners of a lackluster free agency, and any trade will likely result in a downgrade at the quarterback position.

Finding a franchise quarterback is a daunting task, and Prescott is a three-time Pro Bowler who just had an All-Pro season despite coming up short in the playoffs again. Only a handful of quarterbacks would represent an obvious upgrade, and none of them will be available for trade. All that leaves are the quarterbacks that Dallas currently has on their roster . San Francisco gladly traded Lance away just two years after spending multiple first-round picks to draft him third overall, so it's unlikely that he's a viable answer.

"The Cowboys know how hard it is to get a good quarterback and Prescott is largely considered a top-10 passer in this league," ESPN's Jeremy Fowler said. "So, it would be mildly surprising if they moved on from him, but with that 2-5 playoff record, certainly that could be a negotiating point for Dallas that comes up over the coming months."

Extending Prescott is the most reasonable move if Dallas wants to remain competitive. And remaining relative and competitive is our owners first priority. He appears to be “ All In” on this current core of stars even recently stating we will go as far as Dak takes us.

Also worth noting is in McCarthys lame duck season without a contract extension it’s very doubtful they change QB’s. That leaves us basically negotiating how big and how long the extension.

Not many options my friend, JJ and son painted themselves into the corner, and there is virtually no way out.

They did it on purpose so that no blame could be layed on them in 2024, most will focus on contract terms and that's just what JJ and son wanted to happen.

Deflection.

 

[75boyz]

Not many options my friend, JJ and son painted themselves into the corner, and there is virtually no way out.

They did it on purpose so that no blame could be layed on them in 2024, most will focus on contract terms and that's just what JJ and son wanted to happen.

Deflection.

Insightful.
Very nicely done.

 

[MikeT22]

yep and has completely ignored the defensive line. How many years has the middle of the line been a rusty turnstile that team after team keeps running up? I mean I get team building takes time but for over a decade they have refused to address the glaring hole in the defensive line. Takes some spectacular incompetence to do that.

It’s amazing how a 4-3 team doesn’t invest in the front 4.
And on top of Mazi looking like a bust, he is also the only DT we’ve drafted in the first since Russell Maryland in the early 90’s, 30 years ago.

Besides not prioritizing the DL they are also incompetent. The few times they tried over the last 20 yrs resulted in Taco, Trysten and Mazi.

 

[calicowboy54]

this, we have NO options other to push out his contract in to void years, which will cost us more down the line, OR resign him to longterm extension which will take up more cap space.

 

[jazzcat22]

Yea, Cousins or Mayfield are only FA options available this year.

Cousins coming off season ending injury. Are we ready to invest several years and a market type contract ?

And we’d consider that a considerable upgrade?

Both Cousins and Mayflield most likely gets tagged if they do not work out a new deal.

Vikings already said they wanted to re-sign Cousins, shortly after his injury I believe.
TB depends if they feel they can get a decent QB in the draft, which they may be able to do.

 

[jazzcat22]

So what is the real deal with Dak's contract. No trade clause, so why do many keep saying trade him. Even if he agrees, need to find a team to do it. Basically it would have to be a Cooper type trade for the salary cap dump. Man, that would open up some discussions.

So we hear June 1st cut. But I also seen they can add void years, and the cap hits can last for those years. Or he plays this year then is cut for less cap hit.

And what if MM is gone after this year, and a new HC wants to go get a drafted QB or a different QB, or give Lance a shot.

A lot more to look at going forward than just keep or let Dak go.
I am to the point, it is not going to change my fan hood on how I root for the team either way. As of today anyway.

We all know what will happen. There will bean extension, and to a big number. Reduces the cap hit this year and next, then they will be in the same situation. Hopefully this time they won't do this again, it will be written they can release or trade him with minimal cap hits.

 

[big dog cowboy]

 

[CowboysFaninHouston]

If it’s one and done why bother keeping the status quo, no FA QB roll with Lance and see what MM can do with him, you kill 2 birds with one stone, is Lance a viable option and is MM the QB whisper some claim. One and done is not an option for extension when you have some really good players coming up for huge contracts on both sides of the ball. Stuck between a rock and a hard place is the result of brilliant cap management

that would be the one option that would make sense. no to cousins, no to mayfield. we get same result with both or worse. roll dice with Lance. see what you have. if not, then move on. you get one year to evaluate him anyway. so might as well.

then again, we are talking about Jerry Jones. he hasn't been able to build a team in almost 30 years. do you expect anything different?