NFL insider believes it would be a 'massive mistake' to rule out scary Cowboys, Dak Prescott scenario
Under two weeks from now, Dallas Cowboys players will be reporting to training camp at Oxnard, California. Among them, second-team All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott will show up for what might just end up being his last time at the iconic location.After all, he's entering a contract year and questions remain on whether or not the […]
Under two weeks from now, Dallas Cowboys players will be reporting to training camp at Oxnard, California. Among them, second-team All-Pro quarterback Dak Prescott will show up for what might just end up being his last time at the iconic location.
After all, he's entering a contract year and questions remain on whether or not the Cowboys will be able to get a deal done as Prescott holds the most leverage in the entire NFL thanks to a no-tag, no-trade clause that guarantees him a ticket to free agency in 2025.
The offseason saga has moved slowly as neither side appears to be in a rush to put ink to paper. In a recent article for ESPN, NFL insider Dan Graziano judged overreactions from the offseason and offered a verdict for each. Headlining his column was his opinion on the notion of Prescott potentially signing with a different team next year.
"The team is in a tough spot, as Prescott's contract situation gives him all the leverage here. And he doesn't have to do a deal with the Cowboys unless it's exactly the deal he wants. That's why the possibility of Prescott hitting the market as an unrestricted free agent quarterback — and cashing in with a deal likely to exceed $60 million per year — is not far-fetched."
Verdict: NOT AN OVERREACTION – Dan Graziano
Graziano clarified that he still believes the likeliest outcome for the controversial saga is for the Cowboys to end up budging at one point. Even still, he makes it clear that it'd be short-sighted to entirely dismiss the possibility of Dak playing elsewhere in 2025.
"But if they don't finalize something before or during the season, I think it would be a massive mistake to rule out this possibility," Graziano writes.
It's difficult to disagree with Graziano here. Although there's not a deadline per NFL rules, the start of the season kind of feels like the limit for a quarterback that's proven he's willing to bet on himself time and time again, even playing under the franchise tag in 2020.
Once the season comes around, the scary scenario of losing their franchise quarterback could become a very real possibility for the Cowboys as Prescott would likely mentally move on to just worrying about playing his best football. If I had to bet today, I'd say a deal gets done but once the season kicks off, I'd personally lean toward Dak leaving for free agency in 2025.
Now granted, it's difficult to predict how negotiations will play out in the NFL world as conversations can drastically change over night just as long as the numbers are right. Sure, the Cowboys could change things at the last minute with a simple phone call.
But right now, the reality is they're playing under Prescott's rules and unless they accept it and embrace it, things are unlikely to ever heat up. The quarterback has got all the leverage and the Cowboys don't seem to like it one bit.
Since we're talking about the same team that let Amari Cooper go for a fifth-round draft pick and the front office that traded for Trey Lance in a poor attempt to gain leverage (which they didn't), of course it would be a massive mistake, as Graziano puts it, to rule out a world where we stay waiting for progress between the two sides and instead we see Prescott walk out the door while the Cowboys are left empty-handed staring at a 2025 season in which hoping for a high draft pick in 2026 would be the biggest hope.
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