The schedule is out. And now that Cowboys fans have scanned the primetime appearances, analyzed the bye week timing, scrutinized the travel demands, and cross-checked their calendars for the biggest games and the key dates, everyone can get back to the offseason’s top spectator sport:
Prescott Payday Patrol.
The topic of Dak’s contract negotiations with the Dallas front office came up multiple times during the league’s schedule release extravaganza Thursday night. And while the team’s owner and primary purse string-holder gave a predictably trite response to questions about the club’s dealings with its starting quarterback, Prescott- who has yet to sign his franchise tag tender- also got some words of encouragement from a seemingly unlikely source: a former NFC East rival who understands his situation all too well.
When asked by NFL Network’s Colleen Wolfe if he had been in contact with Prescott, Jerry Jones deflected, espousing instead the organization’s current strategy of building up the rest of the roster.
“I think when I look at the career that Dak has had with the Cowboys, it gives me a really solid feeling about what’s in store for us in the future,” Jones said on NFL Schedule Release ’20, per the network’s website. “We’ve got to do everything we can- and that’s what we’re doing in this offseason- to put the players on the Cowboys that are players that can- with his talent as quarterback- really win championships. Or have a shot at it. That’s the thing I think about when I think of where we are and how we are with Dak.”
Cowboys fans can (and will continue to) debate how “solid” they happen to currently feel about the team’s quarterback situation, especially after the signing of three-time Pro Bowler Andy Dalton. He is, at least publicly, being called Prescott’s backup. Nothing to see here.
Interesting signing to secure a top backup. But… before anyone asks, #Cowboys source says this has nothing to do with Dak Prescott. This is just about Dalton wanting to be back in Dallas and the #Cowboys wanting a strong option in case of injury. Simple. https://t.co/WrXSLdIqZL
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 3, 2020
But words like insurance and leverage have suddenly entered into the conversation, as Prescott’s long-term future with the Cowboys is anything but guaranteed. Coming off a career year in which he proved his worth by nearly any measurable metric, Prescott has made it clear he won’t participate in any team activities, virtual or otherwise, while not officially under contract, and the team is apparently in no rush to lock things up before the July 15 deadline for getting a deal done.
If that date passes with no movement, Prescott will play 2020 under the franchise tag. And the drama in Big D will ratchet up significantly.
But going through the season with the tag designation isn’t the end of the world, at least for Prescott. So says Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Cousins became the first quarterback in history to be franchise tagged in back-to-back years after he and the Washington Redskins were unable to come to terms in both 2016 and 2017.
Cousins spoke with ESPN’s Trey Wingo during The Worldwide Leader’s schedule release coverage.
“I believe the franchise tag can be your friend,” the former fourth-round draft pick said. “I don’t think it’s something to be disappointed with. I think it enables you to be well-compensated, and deservedly so, for the upcoming season. And then I always say, ‘The cream will rise to the top.’ If you’re good enough, the cream’s going to rise to the top, and you’re going to get compensated the way you want to. And sometimes it doesn’t happen as quickly as you would like, but if you deserve it and you’ve earned it, it’s going to happen. You’ve just got to stay the course and stay patient.”
Patience paid off for Cousins, who cashed in prior to the 2018 season with the highest-paying contract in NFL history.
But, it’s important to note, that payday came from a new team’s checkbook.
And that’s the high-stakes game of chicken the Cowboys now find themselves playing with their own fourth-round passer, who’s only gone on to become a superstar since then.
Cousins, for one, is encouraging Prescott not to be the first to flinch.
“My message to Dak when I saw him midseason last year was, ‘Hey, whatever happens, don’t be afraid of the tag. It can be your friend, and you can use it to your advantage.”
The biggest bargain in the league for his career thus far, Prescott has undoubtedly earned an exponential raise. He’ll get one in 2020, that’s certain. There’s a good chance Prescott will score the new highest-paying contract in league history in the relatively near future. Question is, will it come from Jerry Jones, who is preaching roster-building without his cornerstone in place? Or will, like Cousins, Prescott have to move to greener pastures to see that record green?
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