5 teams that are happy the Cowboys didn’t sign Dak Prescott
The Dallas Cowboys didn’t get a multi-year deal done with Dak Prescott, and these 5 teams have to be happy about it.
It never seemed likely, but the Dallas Cowboys and quarterback Dak Prescott did not reach agreement on a multi-year deal before Wednesday’s 4 p.m. ET deadline. So Prescott will now play the 2020 season on the franchise tag, and collect $31.4 million.
The Cowboys seem to have it backwards, paying running back Ezekiel Elliott and then drawing a harder line with Prescott. Prescott turned down a contract offer last September, and effectively bet on himself. All he did was have the best season of his career (4,902 passing yards, 30 touchdowns).
Last-minute efforts to re-up with the Cowboys aside, Prescott seems willing to walk down the year-to-year path Kirk Cousins did. The franchise tag would cost the Cowboys $37.68 million next year, so it’s possible they decide to let Prescott hit the open market.
There’s plenty of debate about how good Prescott is, and whether he’s got a further level of great in him that would include beating good teams or eventually winning a Super Bowl. But he could hit the market as an unrestricted free agent at age-27 next March (he’ll turn 28 on July 29, 2021), and if that happens, any team in the market for a quarterback will be lining up for him.
Here are five teams that are happy the Cowboys couldn’t commit to Dak Prescott.
5. Philadelphia Eagles
Regardless of which side of the “Dak Prescott or Carson Wentz, who’s better?” debate you’re on, the Eagles have committed to their quarterback already and he’s not going anywhere for awhile (sorry Jalen Hurts).
With occasional popups, the New York Giants and Washington Redskins have collectively lingered in mediocrity or worse for a long time (the 1980’s were a long time ago, indeed). So the NFC East has become the Eagles’ and the Cowboys’ until further notice, and the Cowboys are getting close to needing to find a new quarterback who isn’t necessarily currently on the roster.
If Wentz somehow doesn’t cut it, probably because he just can’t stay healthy, at least the Eagles are starting to cultivate Hurts as a backup option. For Dallas, I’m not anointing Andy Dalton as Prescott’s successor.