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Stephen Jones: Cowboys ‘got to have a plan’ for Dak Prescott extension

Speaking from the NFL scouting combine, Jones reiterated his belief that Prescott is the QB who can guide Dallas to a championship. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys front office will be well represented at the NFL scouting combine this week. And while they’re admittedly taking a look at a few college quarterback prospects with a possible eye toward drafting one this spring, that doesn’t mean they’re ready to move on from their $40 million man.

In fact, they’re talking about extending Dak Prescott’s contract.

“We’ve got to have a plan to ultimately extend Dak,” executive vice president Stephen Jones said from Indianapolis, per ESPN’s Todd Archer.

Prescott’s current deal, which he signed two years ago this March, binds him to the team through 2024. He’s set to count $49.2 million against the salary cap this season, but the club could restructure his contract to create up to $22 million in cap space; an extension could create even more.

And while one reading of the situation says that’s just the usual creative bookkeeping that comes with this time of year, it also speaks to the organization’s overall belief in Prescott, despite a down 2022 season that saw him lead the league in interceptions and play one of his worst games with a trip to the NFC championship on the line.

“I’ve got all the faith in the world we can win this thing with Dak,” Jones confirmed.

“We know him. We know what he’s about. His leadership skills are undeniable. Impeccable work ethic,” Jones continued. “Other than [the fact that] he hasn’t won some key playoff games, he’s everything you want in a quarterback. From the day he walked in the door, he’s won a lot of games. We’ve just got to get over the hump.”

The Cowboys hope that a massive turnover in the offensive coaching staff and having head coach Mike McCarthy call plays moving forward will help in that effort.

“Obviously, he’s the head coach of this football team, and he made a compelling argument that making him the play-caller was going to help us,” Jones said of McCarthy. “I mean, that’s part of the coaching: be one click better. He feels good about it. He’s had a lot of success as a play-caller.”

McCarthy has hinted to Prescott that about “20 to 30 percent” of the offense will change under his expanded command.

Jones believes that will be enough to make the difference.

“I think people will notice,” he said. “We’ve been a good offensive football team. That’s the scary part. But we just hadn’t been able to make the plays when it got right down to it in the playoffs.”

The 58-year-old admits, though, it will take more than just trotting Prescott back out there with a new contract extension and all the same guys around him. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was the only Cowboy to record over 60 receptions and gain over 600 yards last season.

“Offensively, we’ve just got to maybe add a playmaker to it,” Jones said. “Add a little juice. Add a playmaker to it and see if we can do that.”

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5 QB needy teams the Eagles could consider swapping picks with in 1st round

We’re looking at 5 quarterback-needy teams that could look to make a 2023 NFL draft night trade with the Philadelphia Eagles

The 2023 NFL offseason has begun and as the Eagles and 31 other teams prepare for the NFL scouting combine, all eyes will be on the four top quarterback prospects.

About seven teams in the top half of the draft have quarterback needs. Still, only Bryce Young (Alabama), C.J. Stroud (Ohio State), Will Levis (Kentucky), and Anthony Richardson (Florida) are believed to be franchise-altering signal-callers.

Teams like the Cardinals, Bears, Seahawks, and Lions could all look to select game-changing defensive players, while Philadelphia is looking to accrue assets after blockbuster draft night trades in 2022.

With the draft fast approaching, here are five quarterback-needy teams that could look to swap picks with the Eagles.

PFF Top 101 lists only 3 Cowboys while 13 Eagles make the cut

Zero Cowboys O-linemen make the ’22 list and Dak Prescott is M.I.A., yet the Super Bowl runners-up equal 13 percent of the countdown. | From @ToddBrock24f7

In the big picture, the 2022 Cowboys were as good as- if not slightly better than- the 2021 iteration. They matched last year’s regular season record of 12-5, and they even advanced one spot further in the playoffs.

But individually speaking, Cowboys players didn’t impress the writers at Pro Football Focus nearly as much this season… and they certainly didn’t match up to the NFC champs.

The outlet has always seemed to have a love affair with Philly, and the Eagles’ league-best regular-season mark provided the perfect opportunity for PFF to stan hard with this year’s list.

Their annual Top 101 list came out last week, and while three Dallas standouts were included, that number represents a big dropoff from the year prior. Seven Cowboys players made the list in 2021.

But an absurd 13 Eagles players somehow made the cut in 2022; last season, no team had more than seven guys in the top 101.

Here’s a look at which Cowboys did make the Pro Football Focus 101, along with what the outlet had to say about their 2022 seasons. We’ve also included a few key takeaways about who isn’t on the list this year and a rundown of where all those Eagles fell… just to spark some healthy debate about whether they all actually deserve to be there.

Eagles report card: How we graded Philadelphia’s offense in 2022

With the 2023 NFL offseason upon us, we’re grading the Philadelphia Eagles’ 2022 offense with this final report card

The 2022 NFL season is now in the rearview mirror after the Chiefs celebrated another Super Bowl following a 38-35 win over the Eagles in Glendale, Arizona.

With the NFL Scouting Combine set to get underway in Indianapolis, all eyes and attention will now turn towards the 2023 NFL offseason with the new league year set to begin on March 15.

Philadelphia has 18 pending free agents, a contract extension to workout with Jalen Hurts, and two first-round picks in April’s draft.

With a retool on the horizon, we’re handing out one final grade for Philadelphia’s dynamic offense in 2022.

Patriots knock it out of the park in this 3-round mock draft

Everything fell just right for the Patriots in this three-round mock draft.

There’s always a certain bit of luck involved when it comes to the NFL draft board. We can twist our brains like pretzels thinking up scenarios, but the reality is that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won’t know what he’s dealing with until names start coming off the actual board.

Maybe a team he isn’t expecting takes a player he really wants, or on the flipside, maybe they pass up on a player they were initially projected to draft, opening an opportunity for Belichick to draft a player later than expected.

The latter would be the case for this latest three-round mock draft to come to fruition for the Patriots. This one was simulated with the mock draft simulator over at the Pro Football Network, and it ended up being quite the haul.

The Patriots addressed their issues on the offensive line, added a dynamic playmaker at the receiver position and shored up their defensive backfield by landing an Alabama prospect.

Here’s how the latest mock draft turned out for New England.

Spring preview: Scouting Auburn’s RB options

Which running back will see the most production in 2023?

As Auburn begins to prepare for its first spring practice under new head coach Hugh Freeze, Auburn Wire will begin examining each position group and predict who has the chance of seeing the most playing time.

Our next unit to examine will be running backs, which Auburn has a pool of talent to choose from.

Tank Bigsby carried the load for Auburn in the running game over the last three seasons, as he gained 2,903 yards on 540 attempts and scored 25 touchdowns. Who steps up to take over production? The talent is there, but experience may come into play.

Auburn has two returners who gained experience last season in Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston. The Tigers also gained a valuable piece to the room with Brian Battie, a transfer from South Florida. While not on campus yet, four-star running back Jeremiah Cobb is also expected to fight for carries in the fall.

Here’s a look at who occupies Auburn’s RB room heading into spring:

Jarquez Hunter
Brian Battie
Damari Alston
Sean Jackson
Justin Jones
Luke Reebals
Jeremiah Cobb

Get to know each Auburn RB ahead of spring practice by checking out their features below:

Nets’ Jacque Vaughn says team ‘got some answers’ despite Hawks loss

Jacque Vaughn said that Sunday gave him some answers with how things will move forward with the team in the near future.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has been consistent in his messaging for Brooklyn, regardless of who’s on the roster. However, after the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he’s had to maintain his messaging while trying to figure out his rotation and how his team should operate given the new personnel.

In Sunday’s 129-127 heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Vaughn had to pull every stop in order to coach the Nets in their comeback from an 18-point deficit. Vaughn said earlier in the week that he was looking to shorten his rotation and it appears that he did that in this contest.

After playing Joe Harris (six minutes) and Seth Curry (seven minutes) in the first half, neither of the veterans saw the floor in the second half. In the second half, Vaughn limited his rotation to seven guys and that looked to be when Brooklyn had its best flow on both ends of the floor. He said after the game that the team got some answers and the rotation may be one of them:

“That was a little bit my message at the end of the game. I think we solved some problems or a little bit, we got a few answers tonight. We’ll continue to get more answers as we go forward. I thought we were more physical and aggressive in our defensive stance and how we put our hands on people. We were just more aggressive at the end of the day. And, that allowed us to get some stops and get out in transition and get some really good looks from the field. But, it all started with our defensive stance.”

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Nets’ Cam Johnson says Nets ‘still have things to clean up’ after loss to Hawks

Cameron Johnson says the Nets still have things to work on after close loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson had his best performance as a member of the Nets. Not only did he show what he could do when his shot is on, but he also provided the steadiness that Brooklyn needed in their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson has had to learn a different role on the fly ever since he came to the Nets as part of the Kevin Durant trade.

In Sunday’s 129-127 loss to the Hawks, Johnson had 27 points and three rebounds as he was one of the driving forces for Brooklyn being able to come back from a 18-point deficit. Johnson did not have the most efficient time shooting the ball from behind the three-point line, but he was lights out from everywhere else on the court.

Johnson, like the rest of the team, knows that they have bigger goals than just playing good basketball and having fun. Brooklyn wants to make the playoffs outright instead of having to resort to the trials and tribulations of the Play-In tournament. Johnson acknowledged that in his postgame press conference:

“There’s things we still need to clean up for sure. But, I think one thing, you know, anybody can shoot those shots in those final minute and a half, two minutes, which is kind of what we ran into the problem with Philly. Every team kind of has late game offense, late game sets they go to and things of that nature.”

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Cowboys News: Micah near top of PFF101, combine kicks off, Deion ripped for recruiting comments

Micah Parsons is PFF’s top-rated player from the NFC; Coach Prime’s careless answer about his recruits’ home lives is a bad look. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The NFL scouting combine is set to get underway in earnest on Monday, though an increasing number of coaching staffs are skipping the event; we’ll explain why. One major outlet has released its annual list of the 101 best players in the game; we’ll reveal which Cowboys made the grade. And Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is in hot water over comments made recently about the home lives of the student-athletes he prefers to recruit.

Meanwhile, we’re looking at the team’s cornerbacks and running backs with an eye toward what should happen next, we’re questioning which current Cowboys can safely be called busts, and we’re exploring why it may be too early to give up on at least one of them. All that, plus Mike McCarthy’s surprising place among the all-time coaching greats, and Jerry Jones teams up with an unlikely superstar for his latest business venture. That’s all ahead in News and Notes.

Philadelphia Eagles: 7 biggest questions entering the 2023 NFL offseason

We’re looking at the 7 biggest questions for the Philadelphia Eagles entering the 2023 NFL offseason

With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the Eagles and 31 other NFL teams will start the process of financially retooling with the goal of advancing to the postseason.

Between the 2023 NFL draft, free agency, and more, Philadelphia will look to acquire the pieces needed for a return trip to the postseason.

With the NFL offseason now in full swing, here are the seven biggest questions the Eagles need to answer.