Dak Prescott Extension Coming In Spring?
At this point, it’s become fully clear that both the Cowboys and the quarterback Dak Prescott are intent on further extending their time together. With that expectation fully established, we can turn our attention to what that could look like and when that could occur. 
The Cowboys have no intention of letting Prescott leave Dallas. The Cowboys are likely also not too excited about the $59.4MM hit to the team’s salary cap that Prescott is posed to deliver in 2024, the second-highest figure in the league. Those two motivators are sure to steer Dallas in the direction of an extension and soon. This week is known as an opportunity for agents to get together with team officials at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis to broach such topics.
Obviously, no one is expecting a deal to get done in the next few days, though. Prescott is due a $5MM roster bonus on his current contract come March 18, but the Cowboys are likely more than willing to sacrifice that for a bit more time to craft a new extension. Still, Calvin Watkins of The Dallas Morning News claims that the team has every intention “of extending Prescott at some point this spring.” So whatever discussions are being had in the infamous Cowboys team bus in Indianapolis this week should lay the groundwork to get a new deal done relatively soon.
Prescott’s previous four-year, $160MM extension back in 2021 was massive at the time, but nowadays, the deal pales in comparison to the most recent contracts we’ve seen going to passers that are starting to inch towards $60MM per year. Currently, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow holds the league’s highest annual average value at $55MM. Yes, Burrow has led his team to a berth in the Super Bowl to earn that figure, but Chargers passer Justin Herbert is making $52.5MM per year with a regular season record of 30-32 and a loss in his single playoff appearance.
In comparison, Prescott has led the Cowboys to a 74-41 regular season record and five playoff appearances. People will draw attention to the 30-year-old’s 2-5 playoff record and the team’s inability to advance past the Divisional Round, but other quarterbacks have cashed in more with less. Also, despite the lack of playoff success, in 2023, Prescott led his team to their best record since his rookie year and led the league in completions and passing touchdowns. The expectation is that Prescott will once again set the mark for quarterbacks.
With how things are trending, a $60MM per year deal doesn’t seem out of reach. It’s simply the direction things continue to go towards. Yes, the Cowboys have other stars like Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb who will need new deals in the next two years, as well, but unless a team is willing to go back to a rookie contract and start from scratch, they will need to pay their quarterback. The higher-than-expected increase to the league’s salary cap this year makes $60MM a bit more palatable, and future rises to future salary caps make deals with Parsons and Lamb seem doable, as well. Not to mention that a new deal would result in a lower cap hit in 2024 for Prescott, freeing the Cowboys up to make some other moves to improve the team this offseason.
So, we expect conversations to be taking place this week to set the stage for a Prescott extension sometime this spring. And we expect that extension to once again move the bar for paying quarterbacks in the NFL. At this point, it all seems like a matter of time and details.
Mutual Extension Interest Between Cowboys, Dak Prescott
Although the Cowboys have come up short in back-to-back road games against quality opponents, they have seen a bounce-back season from Dak Prescott. The clock on a Prescott extension is ticking, as 2024 presents an unfavorable situation for the team.
Prescott is signed through the ’24 season, but as detailed previously, the Cowboys have given their quarterback leverage that perhaps no active NFLer can match. Prescott is set to carry a $59.5MM 2024 cap number — which would shatter an NFL record — and holds a no-trade clause. Having been tagged in 2020 and ’21, Prescott will not be a tag candidate in 2025. These components, coupled with the quality season the eighth-year veteran has put together, set the stage for the NFL’s salary ceiling being raised again soon.
Joe Burrow‘s $55MM-per-year contract checked in $2.5MM north of the bar Justin Herbert set this offseason. Despite the four QBs who signed big-ticket extensions this offseason all being at least four years younger than Prescott, Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz notes the Bengals’ Burrow deal will likely be considered the floor for a Prescott contract (video link).
Mutual interest exists between Prescott and the Cowboys on a new deal, Schultz adds. As of late November, the sides had not begun discussions. The Cowboys have until March 2025 before Prescott becomes a free agent, but the team will likely push to finalize an agreement well before that point. Prescott, 30, maximized his leverage when he signed his current four-year, $160MM deal in 2021. After two years of failed negotiations, the QB did not re-sign until just before the 2021 deadline to tag players. The Cowboys tagged Prescott a second time as a procedural matter, making another tag — no player has been tagged three times since the 2006 CBA made that route prohibitive — out of the equation.
Prescott leads the NFL with 30 touchdown passes, giving him a third season with at least 30, and sits behind only Brock Purdy and Josh Allen in QBR. How the Cowboys fare in the playoffs will obviously be pivotal to Prescott’s reputation, a matter constantly scrutinized due to the team’s popularity, but he will enter the 2024 offseason in commanding position regardless of how Dallas’ season concludes.
The team took care of Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele this offseason, along with ending Zack Martin‘s holdout with player-friendly guarantee terms. Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are squarely on Dallas’ extension radar for 2024, with Micah Parsons also becoming extension-eligible next year. Lamb is having an All-Pro-caliber season, while Parsons will command a defender-record deal. Prescott’s leverage complicates those contract timelines, and the Cowboys have the luxury of waiting until 2025 on Parsons — due to the fifth-year option — and would have a 2025 tag available for Lamb.
With each of the team’s three prime-years pillars on the extension radar for 2024, the Cowboys are set for another high-stakes offseason. Prescott finishing up his ’23 campaign strong will only strengthen his case for a deal that tops Burrow’s and approaches the $60MM-AAV mark.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Addresses Dak Prescott Contract Talks
The Cowboys have once again positioned themselves as a candidate to make a deep postseason run. Much of the team’s success has come from the play of quarterback Dak Prescott, who finds himself firmly in the MVP conversation. 
Prescott’s play has also set him up well for negotiations on a new contract. Talks on that front have long been expected to be put on hold until the offseason. A report from last month confirmed no discussions had taken place between the Cowboys and the two-time Pro Bowler, who has played his way into a lucrative new pact over the course of this season. One year remains on Prescott’s deal, but his untenable $59.5MM 2024 cap hit leaves him in need of an extension.
During his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan, owner Jerry Jones spoke on the subject of a Prescott deal. Working one out will be a top priority for the team not only to keep him in place for years to come, but to also establish cost certainty under center with the likes of edge rusher Micah Parsons and wideout CeeDee Lamb also in line for extensions. Jones’ remarks present an optimistic tone with respect to an agreement being reached in the relatively near future.
“Don’t pay any attention to discussion,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “It’s meaningless. The only thing that is factual here is what I decide and what we decide as a team and what Dak decides… We know exactly where we are on the contract, years left on the contract and we should be, and are, about as close on that type of communication.”
Jones noted that the timing of a deal “remains to be seen,” but the early portion of the new league year in March represents a logical deadline. Prescott is due a $5MM roster bonus on the fifth day of the 2024 league year, so it would come as no surprise if an agreement were to be reached by that point. Especially with the leverage the 30-year-old has generated this season, though, a second Cowboys extension will require a lucrative commitment.
The quarterback market saw another jump over the course of the 2023 offseason. Four young passers (Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow) leapfrogged each other as the league’s highest-paid players in terms of AAV. Patrick Mahomes then worked out a restructure to his Chiefs pact which moved him higher up the pecking order at the position, one which now has four players averaging at least $51MM per season.
Prescott’s current contract (four years, $160MM) has been outdone several times with the salary cap continuing to jump on an annual basis. His next pact will surely represent a raise in terms of annual compensation, but Jones’ public stance on the matter points to more amicable negotiating process than the last time the parties were in this situation.
NFC East Rumors: Giants, Prescott, Lewis, Garcia
The reported rift between Giants head coach Brian Daboll and defensive coordinator Wink Martindale has gotten weird. After recent reports of tension between the two coaches and rumors that both the team’s coordinators are in danger of losing their jobs, New York elected to deny, deny, deny. And then deflect, deflect, deflect.
The day of our initial report, a New York Post contribution by Mark Cannizzaro relayed multiple accounts from players and staff pushing back on the idea of a rift. Daboll himself expressed his “respect” for Martindale to the media last week telling them, “I’d say the biggest argument that Wink and I have had is who has the last piece of pizza.”
Daboll is known for running a bit of a closed-door operation intent on eliminating outside distractions, so taking his statements at face value is difficult to do. Especially when the following day, Pat Leonard of New York Daily News provided a description of a press conference in which general manager Joe Schoen and Daboll failed in their attempts to play it cool.
For the second straight day, Daboll made a joke about him and Martindale being avid eaters, saying, “I just met with Wink a little while ago. We had donuts.” This was followed by Schoen repeatedly deflecting questions about Martindale’s future with the team to Daboll, claiming that Daboll had already discussed these things with the media, which he hadn’t.
It seems like opinion for now, but those in the room seem to firmly believe in the supposed rift between Daboll and Martindale. The Giants’ attempts to get the media looking in the opposite direction don’t seem to be effective.
Here are a few other rumors from the NFC East:
- Our own Adam La Rose recently provided a strong breakdown of the potential extension situation for Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. In it, La Rose relayed the team’s plan to wait until the offseason to solidify a new deal for their two-time Pro Bowler. Well, today, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided a bit more detail on the situation, cluing us in to a potential deadline for an extended contract. Rapoport speculates that, since Prescott is due a $5MM roster bonus on the fifth day of the new league year, if an extension is going to happen, it’s going to be before then. The 2024 League Year is set to start on March 13, giving the team until March 17 to get a deal done.
- A few weeks into the season last year, we saw Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis undergo season-ending surgery for a Lisfranc injury. At the time, we questioned what the injury meant for Lewis’s future as he was set to enter a contract year and an injury plus the breakout of then fifth-round rookie DaRon Bland could threaten his job security. Apparently, we should have been worried about his future for a different reason as Michael Gehlken of The Dallas Morning News told us recently that Lewis’s injury had the potential to threaten his football career. The team’s director of rehabilitation, Britt Brown, told Gehlken that “a lot of guys…wouldn’t have come back from that.” Brown continued, “When that initially happened, his career was immediately in jeopardy.” Lewis, though, fought to return and has played in every game past Week 1 for the Cowboys this year, displaying impressive resiliency in the face of dour odds.
- The Commanders had to turn to some new leaders on the defensive side of the ball this week after firing Jack Del Rio a little over a week ago. Cristian Garcia, who was recently tabbed as the team’s interim defensive backs coach, is reportedly whom head coach Ron Rivera will rely on, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The 29-year-old assistant coach was asked this week to “handle a larger role in game planning and on gameday.” While it’s surely an exciting challenge for Garcia, facing the Dolphins in his first week with increased responsibilities was certainly a daunting task.
No Ongoing Extension Talks Between Cowboys, Dak Prescott
The Cowboys are once again positioned to make a postseason run, in no small part due to the play of Dak Prescott. Dallas’ franchise quarterback is set to be a central storyline this offseason due to his contract situation, but no developments on that front are expected in the near future. 
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has left the door open to in-season negotiations on a new Prescott contract, but since last month the expectation has been talks on another extension will wait until after the campaign. Indeed, no discussions have taken place at this point concerning a re-up, Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reports.
Jones has made it clear numerous times that keeping Prescott in the fold well beyond 2024 (the final year of his current deal) is a priority for the ograniztion. The idea of an extension gained steam this offseason, with multiple restructures having spiked Prescott’s cap hit for next year to an untenable $59.46MM. After earning a four-year, $160MM deal in 2021, the two-time Pro Bowler will again be set up nicely for a lucrative pact.
Prescott, 30, sits in a tie (with Daniel Jones) for 10th in the NFL in terms of annual compensation on his current deal. His next one will move him up the pecking order significantly, especially if his 2023 performance (which includes a career-high completion percentage of 70.1%, along with touchdown and interception rates better than his career averages) can be continued down the stretch. Coming to terms on a second extension will be pricey for the Cowboys, but it will mark one of several major financial priorities.
Dallas has not only Prescott’s contract to sort out, but also new deals for the likes of edge rusher Micah Parsons and wideout CeeDee Lamb to work on. The latter two players have had standout campaigns, putting them in line to move at or near the top of the market of their respective positions with their second contracts. Clarity on how much room the team has for Parsons and Lamb in particular is something Dallas has long been eyeing as it pertains to Prescott’s re-up.
The Cowboys are currently projected to find themselves near the bottom of the league in 2024 cap space, though plenty of financial maneuvering is yet to take place until the new league year begins in March. Flattening out Prescott’s cap hit for that season – while ensuring his future in Dallas for years to come – will certainly help in the team’s other efforts to maintain its young corps. It will be interesting to see how much progress will have been made by that point on the NFL calendar.
Cowboys Eyeing Offseason Dak Prescott Extension
The Cowboys are currently on their bye week, and their attention understandably remains on the immediate future (something which may or may not include moves in advance of the trade deadline). After the year, though, all eyes will be on the team’s handling of quarterback Dak Prescott‘s contract. 
The two-time Pro Bowler is on the books for one more season and is due $34MM next yea. As a result of a restructure, however, his 2024 cap hit is currently scheduled to reach $59.5MM – which would comfortably set a new record for the largest cap burden a player has carried in NFL history. To no surprise, Dallas will look to get another extension worked out around the new league year.
“He’s under contract now, but we’d like to do this after the season,” Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones told Dianna Russini of The Athletic during last week’s league meetings (subscription required). “Once the season is over, we will focus on that. Dak will be our quarterback.”
Dallas has remained firm in the team’s commitment to Prescott on a number of occasions, but not much in the way of negotiations on a long-term pact took place this past offseason. The former fourth-rounder is currently playing on his four-year, $160MM deal, one which places him in a tie for 10th in terms of AAV at the quarterback position. The market on that front saw four passers (Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow) eclipse the $50MM-per-year mark in recent months, and a number of other signal-callers will be in line to benefit as a result down the road.
Another Prescott extension has long been on the Cowboys’ radar, but a number of other candidates for new pacts are in place as well. The team was busy in that regard this offseason, but wideout CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons headline the list of players who already are eligible for a re-up or will be after the season. The latter in particular figures to command a massive investment from Dallas, and the team’s cap situation for future years could see plenty of changes depending on how their next round of extensions shakes out.
In the meantime, Prescott will as always face considerable scrutiny through the rest of the season. The 4-2 Cowboys currently rank sixth in the league in scoring at 25.7 points per game , but they sit only 18th in terms of passing yards per game. Prescott’s performance in 2023 has been in line with his career averages in many respects, but Dallas’ red zone woes have contributed to him throwing only six touchdowns and posting yards per attempt (7.0) and passer rating (91) figures slightly short of his usual numbers. By season’s end, however, his focus and that of the Cowboys will turn to the negotiating table.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Endorses QB Dak Prescott, HC Mike McCarthy
The Cowboys are set to play the final game of Week 6 tonight, a contest against the Chargers which will be the team’s first opportunity to rebound from their lopsided loss to the 49ers last Sunday. Questions have been raised regarding Dallas’ offense in particular, but owner Jerry Jones remains confident in the unit. 
During a regular appearance on 105.3 The Fan, Jones acknowledged the poor showing on the Cowboys’ part in their 42-10 loss. The performance did not, however, give him reason to consider taking play-calling duties away from head coach Mike McCarthy or doubts about quarterback Dak Prescott‘s standing as Dallas’ undisputed starter.
“We have, in my mind — make no mistake about it — we have a quarterback that can get us there,” Jones said, via Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano. “I feel very strongly there. [And] we have coaching on both sides of the ball that can get us there.”
Monday will be a noteworthy contest not only given the Cowboys’ aim to bounce back on offense, but the fact that the Chargers have Kellen Moore at the helm of their offense. The latter was let go this offseason after four years as Dallas’ offensive coordinator, a stretch during which the team led the league in scoring twice. That decision paved the way for McCarthy to take on play-calling duties, and he has enjoyed mixed results so far. The Cowboys have had a strong rushing attack, something which has helped them rank sixth in the league in points per game, but struggles through the air have the team sitting only 19th in total offense.
In spite of that, Jones confirmed that no consideration has been given to taking play-calling duties away from McCarthy and handing them to new OC Brian Schottenheimer. That represents the latest vote of confidence in McCarthy, who has routinely faced questions about his job security in the wake of postseason disappointments over the past two years. Both he and Prescott have the full backing of Jones moving forward.
“I’m saying that it’s capable of being there,” the latter added when asked further about the offense. “Since Kellen Moore left, have we gotten this team in a place that can do better than we did against the 49ers? You bet we have. Should we change at this juncture back to where we were last year? No, we should not.”
QB Notes: Dak, Ravens, Lance, Dobbs, Lions
Although a report earlier this month indicated the Cowboys and Dak Prescott had not begun contract negotiations, The Athletic’s Jeff Howe notes conversations occurred “throughout the offseason.” The Cowboys restructured Prescott’s deal in March, creating 2023 cap space but setting up a showdown of sorts in 2024. Because of the redo, Prescott carries what would be a record-shattering $59.5MM cap hit for 2024, the final year of his contract. Prescott, 30, will almost definitely not play on that number; no one has ever played on a cap number north of $45MM.
Because the Cowboys tagged Dak in 2020 and procedurally tagged him in 2021, part of the long-running negotiations that finally produced a deal in March 2021, they do not have a 2025 tag at their disposal. The Cowboys want to gain contract clarity with Prescott, Howe notes (subscription required), with CeeDee Lamb extension-eligible and Micah Parsons eligible in January. But the eighth-year QB will hold tremendous leverage, particularly if he can complete a bounce-back season, once the sides get serious about an extension.
Here is more on the QB front:
- The Cardinals have used Josh Dobbs as their starting quarterback through two games, doing so despite the veteran reserve not being acquired until late August. Although Dobbs had a history with ex-Browns QBs coach-turned-Cardinals OC Drew Petzing, the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Mary Kay Cabot notes the Cards surprised the Browns with an “out of the blue” trade proposal for their then-backup. Cleveland, which had brought back Dobbs in March, decided the offer — a 2024 fifth-rounder for Dobbs and a 2024 seventh — was good enough to bump up rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson into the QB2 role behind Deshaun Watson.
- Dobbs was not the only QB who relocated via trade in August, as the 49ers-Cowboys Trey Lance swap outflanked the above-referenced move for headlines. The Ravens were mentioned as a Lance suitor, but Eric DeCosta said the team was not interested. “If somebody calls you and asks if you’re interested in a player and you say ‘No’ does that mean you’re interested in that player?” DeCosta said, via Ravens staff writer Kyle Phoenix Barber. The Ravens did pursue Baker Mayfield in March, when Lamar Jackson was on the franchise tag, but Tyler Huntley remains Jackson’s backup.
- Baltimore also rosters Josh Johnson…again. The journeyman (the term sells Johnson’s travels short) ventured to San Francisco last year following Jimmy Garoppolo‘s injury, being poached off Denver’s practice squad to become Brock Purdy‘s backup. Shortly after landing in the Bay Area, Johnson said (via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine) the Ravens attempted to sign him. This sequence transpired in December, when Jackson’s knee injury left Huntley and Anthony Brown as the Ravens’ QBs. Johnson, 37, is on stint No. 3 with the Ravens presently; he was with the team in 2016 and 2021.
- On the subject of the 2022 49ers, the team’s Lance hedge — via the Garoppolo contract reworking just before last season — came about because Garoppolo was still viewed as the better quarterback. The 49ers aimed for Lance — the unquestioned starter going into Week 1 — to pass the veteran after a season’s worth of growth, SI.com’s Albert Breer notes. Lance suffered a fractured ankle in Week 2, requiring two surgeries, and is back on the developmental track in Dallas. The Cowboys have the former No. 3 overall pick stationed as their third-stringer.
- In 2021, the Lions were beginning another rebuild — one that soon involved a trade of Matthew Stafford. The 12-year Lions QB had requested a trade before the team made its GM hire, and The Athletic’s Colton Pouncey writes Detroit brass did not inform candidates of the request. The Lions had shot down Stafford trade talk in 2020, but after the veteran passer requested a move as the team reloaded around Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell in January 2021, the thinking changed. Holmes was unfazed by Stafford’s wish to be dealt, per Pouncey. After negotiating with several teams, the Lions collected two first-round picks, a third and current starter Jared Goff in that seminal swap with the Rams.
Jerry Jones Addresses Dak Prescott Contract; No Extension Talks Yet
The Cowboys restructuring Dak Prescott‘s contract this offseason gives their longtime quarterback some ammo. The reworking created a whopping $59.5MM Prescott cap number in 2024, the final year of his current deal. Already limited by the events of 2021 with Dak, the Cowboys have some work to do going forward.
Taking parts of three offseasons to agree to an extension, Prescott ended up playing his hand well. His price rose from 2019-21, and talks ended up coming down to the March 2021 deadline for teams to apply franchise tags. With Prescott having already been tagged in 2020, the 2021 number would have brought a cap sheet-clogging $37MM hit. As that deadline approached, the Cowboys hammered out a four-year, $160MM extension with the former Offensive Rookie of the Year. The fallout from that extension affects the team today.
Because the Cowboys applied a procedural tag on Prescott in 2021, it would be untenable for them to tag him a third time in 2025. While two years remain on Prescott’s deal, the 2024 cap number and the tag being out of play will equip him with considerable leverage. For now, however, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill notes the Cowboys and Dak have not linked up on extension talks. An extension would allow the team to reduce Prescott’s monster 2024 cap number.
The topic of a second Prescott extension surfaced this offseason, but the Cowboys had more pressing matters to address. They have taken care of those, giving Zack Martin a raise and adding more than $35MM guaranteed to end his holdout. They also extended Trevon Diggs, Terence Steele and Malik Hooker to prevent them from going into contract years. CeeDee Lamb looms as an extension priority as well, but he is signed through 2024. Micah Parsons certainly will be, too. The all-world pass rusher becomes extension-eligible in January but can be kept on his rookie deal through 2025 due to the fifth-year option the Cowboys will exercise by May.
Dallas also made a surprising trade for Trey Lance, with Hill adding Jerry Jones pulled the trigger without consulting Prescott or Mike McCarthy. Jones said the Lance trade did not come to pass because of a potential leverage ploy against Prescott, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota (subscription required), and added he wants the current starter in Dallas for a long time. Prescott, 30, declined to comment on prospective contract talks, via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins, adding he was not surprised by the Lance acquisition. The former No. 3 overall pick is not expected to play this season, with Hill adding Lance could compete with the recently re-signed Cooper Rush for that job in 2024. Rush is now on a two-year deal.
While Lance counts only $940K on Dallas’ cap sheet this year, that number spikes to $5.31MM in 2024. Prescott’s 2024 number will need to be addressed, as no player has entered a season with a cap hit higher than $45MM. The Browns are in the same boat, though theirs is a bit trickier due to Deshaun Watson‘s 2024-26 cap numbers (all at $63.97MM) part of a fully guaranteed contract. Two void years are on Prescott’s deal. It would cost the Cowboys $36.5MM were they to not extend Prescott before the start of the 2025 league year.
Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Addresses Trey Lance Trade
The Cowboys won a brief, Day 3 picks-laden bidding war last night for Trey Lance last night. The move gives Dallas a notable name on the QB depth chart behind Dak Prescott, and owner Jerry Jones elaborated on the thought process behind the move on Saturday. 
The Cowboys acquired Lance for a 2024 fourth-round pick – a pittance of a return from San Francisco’s perspective considering the price they paid to move up in the 2021 draft to select him third overall. The deal sorts out the 49ers’ situation under center with Brock Purdy set to be backed up by Sam Darnold and Brandon Allen. Dallas, meanwhile, has Prescott and Cooper Rush in place, along with Lance as a developmental project.
“Quarterbacks are a precious commodity in the NFL,” Jones said when asked about the deal (via Jon Machota of The Athletic). “We should have in the wings a quarterback on the come. When San Francisco called, I didn’t want them to hang up… We want to back Dak Prescott up as well as we can… You can’t have enough quarterbacks. We’ll see how it works out, but it’s worth any risk we’re taking here.”
Jones added that he does not foresee Lance playing during the regular season this year, but questions have been raised about how it could affect Prescott’s future. The latter is on the books through 2024, but he is due to carry a cap hit of $59.5MM that year. An extension for the 30-year-old aimed at lowering that figure has been on the team’s radar for several months now. The presence of Prescott for the short- and, in all likelihood, medium-term future did not play a role in the Lance deal.
Jones added (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) that Prescott’s financial situation was not a consideration when negotiating the Lance trade, and that the two-time Pro Bowler was not notified about the trade before it was official. The Cowboys have been eyeing a developmental passer in each of the past several drafts, with Jones saying the team was prepared to draft Jalen Hurts in 2020. They now have a 23-year-old to attempt to develop in Lance while relying on Prescott for at least the time being.
From a financial standpoint, Lance will not be a burdensome signal-caller until next year. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated tweets that the 49ers already paid out a $2.82MM roster bonus, leaving the Cowboys responsible for only his base salary ($940K) in 2023. Next season, on the other hand, Lance will be due a fully guaranteed $5.31MM. Where he stands in the Cowboys’ organizational plans by that point will be worth watching closely.