Cowboys may use both tags on Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper

Mike McCarthy wants to transform the Cowboys into Super Bowl contenders in his first season. That will require retaining both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper.

Despite their 8-8 finish last season there is still plenty of optimism inside the Cowboys organization that 2020 can become a special year for the storied franchise. If Mike McCarthy is going to make some magic happen in his first year in Dallas, he’ll need Jerry Jones to find a way to keep both Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper in the fold.

The team’s priority is clearly to lock Prescott up for the long haul. The 26-year-old may not be an elite quarterback, but at the minimum he’s a quality starter for the Cowboys. Letting a signal-caller of his caliber go in the prime of his career would be a risk Dallas isn’t willing to take.

Of course, re-signing Prescott is going to be expensive. Those in Dallas believe that Prescott’s representatives want to open negotiations at the sum of $34 million per season. That would slot the former Mississippi State star just behind Russell Wilson as the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL at the moment. In all fairness, the trajectory of quarterback salaries does mean he would quickly fall down the pecking order as more and more new contracts come in for his peers.

If the Cowboys can’t come to terms with Prescott on a long-term extension, they will likely use the franchise tag to keep him in Dallas. That would likely pay him just under $27 million for the 2020 season. Even if the franchise tag is placed on Prescott, expect team officials to keep working on a long-term deal for their starting quarterback before the regular season begins.

Add it all up and it’s clear that Prescott’s future lies with the Cowboys. The real question for Jerry Jones and his front office is what they’ll do with his No. 1 wide receiver.

On his best day, Amari Cooper has the ability to take over games with his combination of size, speed and intricate route-running. Unfortunately, his inconsistency has been an issue during his professional career. The Cowboys have seen less of it than the Raiders did in his first few years in the league, but it’s still perplexing how his performance waxes and wanes on the big stage.

With that being said, it’s still unlikely the Cowboys are going to let him leave via free agency. If Prescott signs a long-term contract they can use the franchise tag on Cooper. Even if Prescott requires the franchise tag, Dallas could use the transition tag to keep Cooper on the roster.

That designation would pay Cooper just under $16 million next season. That’s a massive raise over the $5.5 million and change he earned in 2018. While Prescott might want to avoid being tagged in any manner, Cooper should be willing to play under the transition tag due to the amount of guaranteed money available.

The Cowboys would be risking losing Cooper to another team via the transition tag, but they’d have the chance to match any offer. That would give Dallas a huge advantage when it comes to signing Cooper to a team-friendly deal.

Cowboys fans shouldn’t feel comfortable about retaining both Prescott and Cooper until the contracts are signed. It does seem like the franchise is in good shape to retain both stars though. That will give McCarthy a lot of star power to work with on offense during his first season in Big D.