Cowboys shouldn't act on their worst plan yet to replace Dak Prescott

With the 2024 NFL Draft roughly two weeks out, the rumor mill has been swirling at an all-time high.

Take things with a grain of salt during this time of year, like the Dallas Cowboys reportedly being in the market for a quarterback in the first round to potentially replace franchise signal-caller Dak Prescott.

However, the sources are reputable. So maybe the Cowboys are serious about moving on from Prescott once his contract is up at the end of the 2024 season should the two sides not find common ground on an extension and could have his understudy already on the roster. 

Cowboys potentially eyeing first-round QB to replace Dak Prescott

Mike Fisher, who covers the Cowboys for Sports Illustrated, shared a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) of an article by colleague Daniel Flick stating that Dallas is considered a dark horse team to spend a Day 1 draft pick on a replacement for Prescott, citing ESPN's Senior NFL insider Adam Schefter referring to the team as a "sleeper" to do so.

"What are they [Cowboys] going to do at quarterback if they lose Dak [Prescott]"? Schefter asked during a live segment of NFL Live. "And that's why I think the Cowboys might be a sleeper team in the quarterback market during the draft," he added.

Flick names Michael Penix Jr. (Washington, Bo Nix (Oregon), or Spencer Rattler (South Carolina) as potential candidates for the Cowboys, highlighting how Dallas has two potentially record-breaking lucrative long-term contracts lurking in the shadows in the form of the pending extensions of franchise cornerstones CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, meaning this rumor could have legs.

Bill Barnwell of ESPN also contemplates the idea of spending a first-round selection on Penix or Nix, mentioning the uncertainty surrounding Prescott's future as the face of "America's Team."

However, Fisher suggests that while the Cowboys may have a legitimate interest in drafting a quarterback, it could be part of an elaborate plan by them to gain additional leverage amid contract negotiations with Prescott, who is entering the final year of his current deal and cannot be franchise-tagged.

It is hard to know what is real and what isn't at this stage in the offseason — every team is putting up smokescreens, hoping to lure other front offices away from their prospects of choice. But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has been known to take big swings in the draft. So, we can't rule out anything, even if it may not be in the best interest of the team to move on from Prescott, especially for an unproven option.