Has Passover Come for Cowboy's Prescott?

ARLINGTON— The Dallas Cowboys signal caller is reportedly playing on his old contract for the upcoming NFL season.

Dak Prescott, 30, has been the Cowboy’s quarterback since 2016 when he was drafted. Then, Prescott was the third string quarterback behind Tony Romo and Kellen Moore. The plan was to develop Prescott behind the two, but Moore broke his leg in the first week of training camp and Romo re-injured his back against the Seattle Seahawks in Week Two of the preseason.

It did not matter as Prescott lit things up and guided the Cowboys to the playoffs and a 13-3 record. After taking over as the starter for a few years, Prescott ended up signing a four-year deal worth $160 million.

That four-year deal currently has one year left and it’s a big one as Prescott has a cap number of just over $55 million and would be over $66 million in dead money. Outside of contract numbers, Prescott is taking up a lot of the Cowboys cap space and many people figured Dallas would try and bring that number down by signing him to another contract.

Now, NFL insider Ian Rapoport has reported that there is a “mutual understanding” between Prescott and the team about his contract and there is no indication any extension would be offered.

Basically, the Cowboys seem ready to have Prescott hit free agency next season.

In 2023, Prescott played at an MVP level, throwing for 4,516 yards, 36 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He has also avoided major injury except for breaking his ankle in 2020 against the New York Giants. Other injuries have not been as serious.

One thing to look at is head coach Mike McCarthy’s deal with the team as well. His defensive coordinator, Dan Quinn, has already left for the Washington Commander’s head coaching position. This forced the Cowboys to look to Mike Zimmer to lead the defense.

Back to McCarthy, he is also coaching in a contract year. So, both the head coach and quarterback might not be with the Cowboys after this season.

Of course, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the Cowboys would be going all in this offseason and have mainly stuck to the same routine of re-signing their own guys and staying out of free agency for the first couple weeks. Which means picking up free agents on the cheap to fill holes on the roster and drafting the best player available.