All day Wednesday, Cowboys Nation waited anxiously for news that disaster had somehow been averted. But the deadline for Dak Prescott to sign a new long-term contract with the club passed without a deal. Adding insult to injury is the report that the front office and quarterback were actually engaged in “last-minute” negotiations Prescott was amenable to, but that the two sides simply ran out of time to make it official.
Cowboys Twitter, unsurprisingly, had things to say. And even Prescott’s own blood got in on the online roasting. (That one comes later.)
No deal. #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott bets on himself plays on the tag for 31.4M this season and we all get to play this game again next year pic.twitter.com/FQ6rvtAjpc
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) July 15, 2020
The impasse turns 2020 into a prove-it season (once again) for Prescott, who will likely only see his price tag get bigger with every on-the-field success.
Dak Prescott walking to the locker room after every win this season pic.twitter.com/3TL5ClKcyr
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 15, 2020
Dak telling the Cowboys. I’m not willing to settle. I’ll bet on myself…
yet again.Cowboys telling Dak. We’re not willing to budge.
Cowboys aren’t going to like what they have to pay next year.
— John Williams ✭ (@john9williams) July 15, 2020
Oh, well, maybe Dak won't try too hard and press, as he did while playing for a contract last season, and he'll lift the Cowboys into a Super Bowl under the tag this season and name his price in negotiations with Jerry Jones.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) July 15, 2020
"we're gonna tag him to see if he can do it again" – Stephen 2020
*he does it again*
*price goes up another 7mill*Stephen: pic.twitter.com/j3xmYof0nm
— D4K Maskott (@NotToBeTrite) July 15, 2020
By not locking up their two-time Pro Bowl passer to a long-term pact, the Cowboys sure give the impression- despite all the laudatory things they say in interviews- that they just don’t believe Prescott is the answer.
The Dallas Cowboys tripped into Dak Prescott after stumbling into Tony Romo and still don't have an appreciation for quarterbacks to the point that they would pay top dollar for one in the year 2020.
Pretty unbelievable.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) July 15, 2020
Dak Prescott in the cafeteria line with Jerry Jones. pic.twitter.com/eVr6009AnJ
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) July 15, 2020
With many questioning the organization’s loyalty to Prescott, some fans aboard the Dak Train are already making noise about getting off at the next stop. Among them? Dak’s older brother.
There is a reason I was never a @dallascowboys fan growing up or before they drafted @dak after today, who knows how much longer I’ll be cheering for them.
— Tad Prescott (@86Prescott) July 15, 2020
It’s a bad look for Jerry and Stephen Jones, viewed by many as among the most skilled wheelers and dealers in the league.
The Dallas Cowboys 100% botched the Dak Prescott contract process.
Whether you're on team Pay Dak or team Not Pay Dak, that should be obvious.
Either way, all the Cowboys have done is cost themselves money & cap space.
Horrible job by the front office.
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) July 15, 2020
I almost cheer for Dak to walk in the end just to watch the doubters spiral out of control when finding a replacement proves difficult.
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) July 15, 2020
Smiling happily to myself while I imagine the snarky, violent overreaction to every snap of Dak's 2020 season — good and bad — depending on whose narrative it fits. pic.twitter.com/TW4IQcswa2
— David Helman (@HelmanDC) July 15, 2020
2020 could turn out to be the campaign that catapults Prescott into the untouchable elite category. Or Wednesday’s signing snafu may prove to be the beginning of the end of Dak’s days in Dallas. Either way, it will indeed be fascinating to watch it unfold. Probably on Twitter.
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