FRISCO, Texas — Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is understandably frustrated with his quarterback. Dak Prescott has won too many contract negotiations -- and not nearly enough playoff games.
That explains, as well anything else, the reason the contract negotiation stalemate between these parties threatens to extend into the regular season. With the season-opener approaching, Prescott stands just 17 starts away from leaving Dallas as an unrestricted free agent -- a potentially catastrophic event that the Cowboys will be forced to endure should they not sign their starting quarterback before the end of the coming season.
Even if the statement might compromise his leverage, Prescott said Thursday that winning a Super Bowl for Dallas is his priority.
"What motivates me on being here, honestly, is to be the quarterback that does it, that wins it," he said just three days out from his team's regular season opener. "I don’t think winning any other place would be the same.’’
Troy Aikman is the last quarterback to win a Super Bowl for the Cowboys, and he remained supportive of Prescott when he and I spoke on Thursday. I asked Aikman what it will say if Prescott is required to play out the final year of his contract before getting a new one.
“If you feel that he’s the guy -- that he’s the franchise quarterback -- I think you get that deal done," Aikman told me. "Obviously, there’s some reservations; there have to be not to get the deal done. [But] the price is only going to go up."
Aikman mentioned Kirk Cousins, who, like Prescott, was franchise-tagged twice and is now with his third NFL team. But the option to franchise Prescott is gone for the Cowboys, leaving Prescott to question whether -- despite all the Jones rhetoric -- the front office truly believes in him.
"You start to question, 'Wow, I wonder if they question whether or not I’m their guy?'" Aikman said. "I think that’s reasonable to conclude."
Barring a last-minute extension, Prescott will enter the 2024-2025 season with a $55.1 million cap hit -- the largest the NFL history, according to Spotrac. That figure also represents 21.6% of the league salary cap, also an all-time high.
Prescott insisted Thursday that he’s capable of compartmentalizing if playing on an expiring contract, as almost never happens to a franchise quarterback.
On the other hand, the Cowboys have some experience with this: Not only did Prescott play on the franchise tag in 2020, but Jones signed Tony Romo at the end of October during the 2007 season, which ended with the Cowboys finishing 13-3 in the regular season but losing their playoff opener at home as the No. 1 seed.
"When anyone makes a commitment to you, it makes you feel good right?"’ Aikman said. "He would feel good if a deal got done. But as far as being a leader or whatever impact that has, I don’t think that’s going to change. He’s obviously the leader of this team. I don’t think anybody questions that, whether he has a contract or doesn’t have a contract. I still think he’s a great player. Whether he’s playing in Dallas or somewhere else, he holds all the cards. He's in control of his future and that’s a good position to be in. Few players ever get that."
While he may disagree with it, Aikman said he also understands Jones’ perspective, with the owner having paid $40M annually to a quarterback whose team has lost its first playoff game at home without ever leading in two of the last three seasons.
"It’s lot of money, and when you’ve won as many games as they have in the regular season and for whatever reason it hasn’t translated into January, I can understand the frustration by the front office as well," Aikman said. "Do you just keep writing checks? Well, that’s kind of what this league is when you’re on that side of it."
If Jones questions whether Prescott will be appealing to other teams as an unrestricted free agent, he merely has to look across the field this Sunday in Cleveland to see how desperate some team are for starting quarterbacks.
The Browns traded six draft picks, including three first-rounders, to the Houston Texans for Deshaun Watson in March 2022. Then they lavished him with a historic contract worth $230M fully guaranteed.
He’s played in 12 games for the Browns since then.
In this case, Jerry Jones doubting his quarterback reminds of Jason Garrett icing his own kicker.
It's Your Thing
While head coach Mike McCarthy works without a contract extension, he’s Dak Prescott’s play-caller for the second consecutive season, and he has every reason to expect a high-scoring offense. Dallas has led the league in scoring in two of the past three seasons. In fact, McCarthy’s Dallas and Green Bay teams have averaged 26.6 points per game in his head coaching career -- second highest total in NFL history to Sean Payton’s 27.1 ppg average.
Start Me Up
Because of all the lingering uncertainty and the fact the Cowboys seem to lead the NFL in hysterical overreaction, McCarthy is emphasizing, more than ever, starting fast this season. The problem is, the Cowboys are winless in season openers the past decade against any opponent not named the Giants. They’re 4-1 vs NYG; 0-5 against others.
On The Road Again
McCarthy is taking a proactive approach to resolve his team’s awful road performance the past two seasons, eliminating the late charter bus option from the team hotel to the stadium and requiring everyone to arrive earlier and acclimate themselves -- just as the head coach himself has always done, walking the field with equipment manager Bucky Buchanan. The past two seasons, The Cowboys are 16-1 at home and 8-9 on the road. McCarthy explained his new plan is an attempt to create more urgency.
Back In The Saddle Again
Deshaun Watson, who has not played since undergoing shoulder surgery in November, is starting Week 1 for the Browns. Watson will not have played in a live game in 302 days when he starts the season opener. He’s also yet to validate the massive trade and investment the Browns made to acquire him. He's made $91.4M in cash for 12 starts in that span -- or $7.6M per start. That’s what can happen to a franchise desperate for a quarterback capable of winning consistently.
Stand By Your Man
One of Prescott's most important pass-catchers has previously played alongside Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks Tom Brady and Drew Brees -- and Brandin Cooks is astounded by the criticism Dak Prescott tolerates. "It's blasphemy,’’ Cooks said. “It's unbelievable. The guy shows up every year, year in and year out. Putting up numbers, leading his team. He can't do it all by himself. A lot of those great quarterbacks that I've been with, Tom (Brady) and Drew (Brees), don't get me wrong, they won a lot of games, won a lot of Super Bowls, but they had a lot of help around them as well, right? Us players around (Dak) also got to step up. So when we hear that disrespect, I take that personally and as his teammates we should take that personally, because at the end of the day, somebody has got to be able to help him get over that hump so we can go win one."
The Kids Are Alright
For the first time in franchise history, the Cowboys will start four rookies in their opening game. Two of those starters are offensive linemen -- left tackle Tyler Guyton and center Cooper Beebe, both acquired after the Cowboys traded down from the 24th pick last spring. They're making their NFL debuts in Cleveland against a Browns defense that led the league in multiple significant categories last season and allowed fewer than 10 points per game at home. Said Beebe: "What a great challenge it's going to be going into the Dawg Pound. Their experienced front, they've played a lot of ball. It's going to be a tough challenge. I'm ready for it, I'm excited to show what I can do."
Hangin' Tough
Heading into Sunday's game, McCarthy described himself as comfortable, if not confident. That's understandable since rookie left tackle Guyton will often be matched up against reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Myles Garrett had had two sacks, one a strip-sack of Prescott, when the Browns beat the Cowboys in 2020. Terence Steele was a young player at that time when he was victimized by Garrett. I mentioned to Steele that Guyton has a preparation advantage that he lacked — practice reps against teammate Micah Parsons. "Yeah, these reps against Micah are gold," Steele replied. "You know, we never take them for granted." Parsons has offered encouragement to Guyton, telling the first-round draft pick, “If you can stand in front of me, you can stand in front of anyone"
Free Your Mind
Rookie starting linebacker Marist Liufau shared with the media this week new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s message to the his rookies heading into Week 1: "He told us to just cut it loose and let him do the thinking."
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