Cowboys fans couldn’t even enjoy their Super Bowl parties without the first bit of stomach-churning drama for their offseason. With hours still to go before the Chiefs began their way to a 31-20 victory in Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Sunday, reports suggested new head coach Mike McCarthy and the staff he’s assembled in Dallas could very well find themselves without their starting quarterback in the building when work starts back up.
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garofalo and Ian Rapoport, the team is “expected to place a franchise tag” on Dak Prescott.
That could in turn result in the four-year veteran skipping offseason workouts this spring and mark the second-straight year that one of the team’s main playmakers stays away until their contract desires are met. In 2019, Ezekiel Elliott held out while seeking a new deal.
Prescott is currently not under contract, as his rookie deal officially expired when the Cowboys’ season ended. The 26-year-old, coming off his best statistical season as a pro, has been a financial steal for the club since being selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft and then thrust into the starting job over Tony Romo just months later. The two sides were unable to come to an agreement over the 2019 offseason, with Prescott playing in good faith that the team would make his contract extension a priority.
And yet…
“I’ve heard nothing to indicate that they are anywhere close to a contract extension,” Garofalo reported on-air from South Florida.
That would put Prescott on a collision course with a franchise tag later this month or in early March. The club may elect to use a tag designation as a way to extend the negotiating window, as they did two seasons in a row with defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence. “It would also ensure Prescott is paid in the high-$20 million range for the 2020 season should the Cowboys use the nonexclusive tag,” as NFL.com points out. “An exclusive tag, which prevents another team from signing him, guarantees $30-plus million.”
Prescott’s 2019 salary was just over $2 million. “The franchise tag, though only a one-year deal, would,” according to Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan, “pay Prescott $33.4 million, which is in the ballpark of the yearly salary he has been seeking.”
But Prescott has been vocal about wanting to secure a multi-year deal, even telling ESPN’s Sage Steele that he was “confident” a new contract was coming. But he also admitted to Dan Patrick that he thought it was coming last year, too.
Elliott was a holdout for all of the team’s 2019 training camp and preseason as he waited for a deal to get done with Jerry and Stephen Jones in the front office. When he returned just prior to Week 1, though, Elliott was largely a plug-and-play fixture in the Dallas offense.
Prescott, who again is under no contractual obligation to appear, would severely handicap the Cowboys coaching staff already dealing with major changes in the first year of the McCarthy regime. Kellen Moore will return as offensive coordinator and look to establish his identity as a play-caller in just his second year in the role. Doug Nussmeier will act as the new quarterbacks coach after working with the tight ends previously. Plus, there are new position coaches for the offensive line, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs.
That’s a lot of newness to be installed all at once. The league even gives teams with new head coaches extra sessions of offseason work to compensate. Having the field general who hasn’t missed a game in four full seasons would be a significant bonus for the offensive players and provide a strong sense of continuity in the huddle. One has to wonder how productive any of that would be if the starting quarterback is M.I.A.
Back in September, during the previous round of extension chatter, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones spoke about Prescott’s leadership and importance to the team, but also made it clear that a deal for any individual also has to keep the team’s salary cap in mind.
“Man, he’s the ultimate leader,” Jones was quoted as saying. “He’s got all the respect in the locker room. No one roots for him more than Jerry and I. Everybody, I know he does, all want to get this contract done, but it’s got to be right for Dak. People are obviously wanting to get it right for him. At the same time, we want to get it right for our team. At the end of the day, we’re just trying to divide up the cap space. That can be difficult when you’ve got as many great, young players as we have. Certainly Dak, he wants what’s best for the team. So does Zeke, so does DeMarcus Lawrence. We got guys who want to win.”
Cowboys Nation went through this in 2019 with both of the other players Jones mentioned. Fans should strap in and get ready for a new round of money meetings, contract comparisons, and holdout hypotheticals.
Prescott and the Dallas front office already have.