Dak Prescott rumored to be 'next year's Kirk Cousins' despite Cowboys all-in approach

The Dallas Cowboys are a team that expects to win the Super Bowl every year, yet they haven't actually hoisted the Lombardi Trophy since they won it last in 1995. This isn't to say Dallas hasn't made the postseason, as they've been consistent playoff participants, but they have constantly fallen short.

This past season, everything looked like it was going right for Dallas. They won the NFC East. Dak Prescott was playing at an MVP level. Their defense was strong thanks to Micah Parsons. Still, they were sent home early yet again, this time by the No. 7 seed Packers who had Jordan Love starting. They didn't just lose, they were embarrassed on their home turf.

Prescott has proven time and time again that he's an elite regular-season quarterback, but his performance in the postseason has been less than inspiring. He's gone 2-5 in his seven postseason games and has just 14 touchdown passes compared to seven interceptions.

Prescott coming up small in big moments is certainly playing a role in the Cowboys letting their quarterback play the rest of his contract out and hit free agency at the end of the 2024 season. It's a big risk to take, especially after watching what Kirk Cousins just did.

Dak Prescott rumored to be 'next year's Kirk Cousins'

PFT's Mike Florio had this to say when it came to Dak's future in Dallas:

"Now, they seem content to let him finish the contract and hit the market in 2025. Basically, he’ll be next year’s Kirk Cousins. The Cowboys seem to be banking on the fact that no other team will pay him whatever he has been seeking in talks aimed at extending the deal, last year and this year. They also seem to be daring him to leave, believing that the attraction of playing for the Cowboys — with the marketing and post-career opportunities it entails — will get him to take their best offer, whatever it might be."

Rather than extending him now to ensure that he doesn't depart on the open market, the Cowboys are making Dak prove himself one more time before he hits free agency. It's eerily similar to what happened with Kirk Cousins.

Cousins, another player who has excelled in the regular season but come up short when it has mattered most, hit the open market at the end of the 2023 campaign and was able to secure a four-year deal worth $180 million with $100 million guaranteed despite suffering an Achilles tear in the middle of this season. Cousins is five years older than Dak, has fewer postseason appearances and wins, and is not as talented as the Cowboys star. He still got a contract that paid him nearly $200 million despite the injury.

Assuming Prescott has another good regular season, he's going to beat that Cousins contract easily. Getting a franchise quarterback is really hard, and while Prescott hasn't won a Super Bowl, he's proven himself to be an elite quarterback.

Dallas is essentially banking on no team outbidding them to sign a quarterback who might not be good enough to win a Super Bowl. Sound familiar? The Vikings didn't want Kirk to leave, they just found that a team was willing to outbid them.

Dallas would be running the exact same risk by letting Dak reach free agency, and according to Florio, that's exactly what they intend to happen.

Paying Prescott is a no-brainer. Sure, he has his shortcomings as a quarterback, but he's established himself as one of the ten or twelve best passers in the sport. You don't just let a player like that walk in free agency. You shouldn't even let that player reach free agency.

The Vikings learned how valuable high-quality quarterbacks are the hard way, and now Dallas might be gearing up to learn the exact same lesson. Very strange behavior for a team that constantly considers itself "all-in".