The Dallas Cowboys are approaching the situation in an unusual manner if they hope to maintain Dak Prescott after this season.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler claimed during his appearance on the Saturday morning SportsCenter that the Cowboys have been “pretty passive” in their contract negotiations with their star quarterback:
“Dak Prescott will be a free agency in 2024; nevertheless, a team source informed me that the Cowboys still have a great deal of faith in him and that the idea that they don’t want to keep him around is untrue. They want him for the long run, but their efforts to extend his contract have been largely inactive thus far, in my opinion. He has a lot of leverage because he has a $61 million cap hit this year and dead money the following year. They are determined to spend money trying to re-sign some of their guys, including Dak, so this will all work out in the end.”
The lack of participation in free agency has been a major criticism of the Cowboys’ offseason thus far. On March 13, they became the last team to sign an outside free agent when Eric Kendricks agreed to a one-year contract.
The only other undrafted free agent that the Cowboys have signed is Kendricks. Dorance Armstrong, Tyler Biadasz, Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, and Jonathan Hankins are among the eight players they have lost. Jayron Kearse, Stephon Gilmore, and Michael Gallup all still available.
Prescott was expected to sign an extension or restructure his existing contract to reduce his 2024 cap charge, giving the Cowboys more room to add players in free agency.
On March 18, the Cowboys did restructure his contract, freeing about $4 million in salary space by adding two vacant years and converting a $5 million roster bonus into a signing bonus.
On March 14, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones informed reporters that they had discussed a new contract with Prescott. Prescott has stated that he is confident an extension will be completed eventually.
However, Prescott gains greater clout the longer this matter lingers. There is a no-tag clause in his current contract that will allow him to become a free agency in the upcoming offseason.
Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb of the Cowboys are also available to sign extensions this summer. Given that Lamb is about to reach the last season of his rookie deal, he will probably be given more attention right now. Parsons’ contract expires after the 2025 campaign.
The Cowboys would suffer a great deal if Prescott left after the forthcoming season. The most obvious is that they presently don’t have a clear quarterback upgrade on the roster.
The No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Trey Lance, may at last have an opportunity to play a full-time role. His brief stints with the San Francisco 49ers, however, have not shown that he’s a reliable starting choice.
Dallas would also have to deal with Prescott’s departure financially. The Cowboys now have a $40.5 million dead-cap penalty on an empty year in 2025 as a result of the deal restructurings.
Last season, Prescott passed for an NFL-high 36 touchdowns and 4,516 yards. He was selected for the All-Pro second team and placed second in the MVP poll.
