Mike McCarthy is confident Cowboys will sign Dak Prescott long-term

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is confident that quarterback Dak Prescott will be under contract for the foreseeable future.

2020 was supposed to be the year where the Dallas Cowboys would finally break their curse and make their first trip to the Super Bowl since 1996. That didn’t happen, as they fell to 6-10 and were eliminated from playoff contention following a Week 17 loss to the rival New York Giants. Now, the Cowboys have an important offseason coming up, and perhaps their top priority is addressing the Dak Prescott situation. Head coach Mike McCarthy appeared to give us a glimpse on what the Cowboys will do regarding their quarterback.

During a press conference on Monday, McCarthy said that he can’t wait to work with Prescott full-time and said he’s “very confident” that the Cowboys can finalize a new contract with the impending free-agent quarterback.

Will it be new contract or franchise tag for Dak?

To further the confidence that McCarthy has in the team signing Prescott, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones pronounced that this is “Dak’s football team,” via DallasCowboys.com.

At the start of the 2020 league year, the Cowboys placed the franchise tag on Prescott in the hopes that both sides could hammer out a new contract by the July 15 deadline. The problem was that the Cowboys wanted to give Prescott five years, while the quarterback was keen on receiving a four-season deal. They tried to finalize a contract at the finish line, but couldn’t get it done in time.

Prescott got off to a strong start through the first four weeks of the season in spite of Dallas’ lackluster defense. However, his campaign ended in Week 5 after suffering a compound fracture and dislocated right ankle on a scramble attempt against the Giants.

It will be interesting to see how contract talks pan out. Prescott was looking for top dollar prior to the start of the season, but will Dallas be willing to do so as he’s coming back from a nasty ankle injury? If not, the Cowboys would likely have to use the franchise tag on him once again, which would cost them $37.7 million for the 2021 season.

Just like it’s been for nearly two years, everyone will be keeping their eyes on the Cowboys and Prescott to see if they can finally come to terms on a long-term contract.