The Dallas Cowboysave a perennial MVP candidate at quarterback, an All-Pro wide receihave everything to win this year. They hver, and one of the best pass rushers in the NFL. However, they also have a great deal to lose this year. Head coach Mike McCarthy is in the final year of his contract and owner Jerry Jones has refused to offer him an extension. That 1-3 record in the NFL Playoffs since he because head coach has far from met the expectations the team has had for him.
Additionally, Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Micah Parson, the three players described above, are all due for major contract extensions. Prescott, specifically, is in line for a contract that could break records in terms of total compensation, annual salary, and guaranteed money.
Dallas Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott Is in Line for a Massive Contract Extension
While the Cowboys have made it known that they are prioritizing extending their quarterback, nothing has been agreed upon yet. In the meantime, two other NFL quarterbacks (Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence) have signed contracts that will pay them well over $50 million a year.
The Lawrence contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars is especially concerning for Dallas’ situation with Prescott. The three-year veteran signed a massive five-year $275 million deal that will pay him $55 million a year. This ties him with Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals for the highest annual salary in the NFL.
As Prescott is, by a long measure, a better quarterback than Lawrence, it stands to reason that he will want (and get) more money than him. Whether or not the Cowboys will be able or willing to meet his asking price is still a matter of debate.
NFL Analyst Predicts the Dallas Cowboys Will Trade Dak Prescott at the Deadline
To his credit, Prescott has not held out from Dallas’ offseason team activities while his contract is negotiated. However, that does not mean that it will get done before the season begins. Of course, he will play regardless of whether or not a deal gets done. He can only increase his price by playing well.
Part of Prescott’s current contract states that the Cowboys cannot franchise tag him. In other words, once he hits free agency, any team is going to be able to sign him and Dallas can only hope he chooses their offer over other suitors’. If he goes into the regular season without a new deal, it will only increase speculation that he will ditch the Cowboys in free agency.
If that is the case, and if Dallas is out of contention for the NFL Playoffs by the time the NFL trade deadline rolls around, one analyst predicts that the Cowboys will simply trade him, and the Las Vegas Raiders were mentioned as a potential destination:
“The odds might be similar, but I view the Eagles as the clear-cut favorite in the NFC East. They have too much talent not to bounce back, while Dallas looks primed to regress.
“And if that happens, the organization could very well decide it’s time to move on from Prescott, who has been part of just two playoff wins and has thrown four interceptions in the team’s last two postseason losses.
“Quarterbacks rarely move in the middle of seasons, but most of the ingredients are there in this case. Now, if a contender were to suffer a major injury at quarterback, or if a team like Las Vegas or Seattle finds itself in contention in spite of what it has at quarterback, a deadline blockbuster involving Prescott could come to fruition.”
While no return package was mentioned, one would assume that the deal would include numerous first round draft picks (as well as a new contract for Prescott). This would, though, put Dallas in a precarious position of being a rebuild team without a franchise quarterback. Sure, they still have Trey Lance, but he has yet to prove anything in the NFL.
For the Raiders, the thought of pairing Prescott with All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams has to be an exciting one. Adams has shown that he is capable of putting up video game numbers with below-average quarterbacks throwing him the ball, and everyone saw what he can do with an MVP-caliber quarterback when he was with Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
This trade would certainly spell doom for Dallas, but could resurrect the Raiders.
