Jerry Jones blames COVID-19 for lack of extension with Dak Prescott

Jerry Jones just used the coronavirus as an excuse to not pay Dak Prescott.

Jerry Jones and Dak Prescott couldn’t reach a long-term deal because of the global pandemic?

Yes, that is what the owner of the Dallas Cowboys essentially said when he met with the media on Wednesday afternoon. Prescott gave the Cowboys two Pro Bowl seasons as a fourth-round pick out of Mississippi State University. While he was paid handsomely in 2020 on the franchise tag, Jones pretty much used the coronavirus as an excuse for why they couldn’t get a deal done.

“We think he’s outstanding, we think he’s our quarterback of the future,” said Jones. “We just couldn’t get together at this particular time. I think it’s easily worth noting that a lot of people this year in the franchise mode didn’t get together. One of the biggest reasons was the backdrop of the COVID, one of the biggest reasons is the economic issue.”

“I’ve just spent weeks and weeks, as part of this rasp voice, on the phone talking with NFL and the players association, weeks and weeks walking through the economic consequences. And candidly, nobody knows what’s going to be there next year, the next year or the next year.”

“And frankly, we all know what we were talking about in this case was the next year, the next year and the next year. So all of that came to bear and this was just a less-than-stable time to be talking about serious, serious generational (if you will, to use Dak’s term) dollars and an unknown period of time looking forward. That certainly was one of the issues.”

The more Jerry Jones talks, the more and more it sounds like an excuse.

The Cowboys had years to figure out how to pay Prescott on a long-term deal. He contributed in a big way right away as a rookie back in 2016. Prescott won his second division title and made his second trip to the Pro Bowl in 2018. Last season may have been a down year for the Cowboys, but statistically, this was Prescott’s best season as a pro. All the while, Dallas waited not to pay him.

Using the global pandemic as an excuse is absolutely embarrassing. Did the coronavirus stop the Kansas City Chiefs from giving Patrick Mahomes a 10-year contract? What about the historically frugal Los Angeles Chargers paying pass-rusher Joey Bosa big money? Seemingly every team made a big signing or two in free agency, yet the virus somehow got in the way of paying Prescott.

Dallas could slap Prescott with the franchise tag again in 2021 and really give him the proverbial Kirk Cousins treatment. Well, guess what? Cousins left the nation’s capital for a better situation for him financially and professionally with the Minnesota Vikings. If this becomes a year-by-year thing between Prescott and the Cowboys, it’ll surely end up being to the detriment of “America’s Team.”

Jones is too smart to play dumb here and use the coronavirus as a reason he couldn’t pay Prescott.