Dak Prescott

Cowboys COO: Ball In Dak Prescott’s Court; Team Communicating With CeeDee Lamb

July 31st, 2024 at 1:35pm CST by Sam Robinson

Friday further solidified the quarterback market. After Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence signed $50MM-plus-per-year extensions this offseason, Jordan Love‘s hold-in and Tua Tagovailoa‘s partial hold-in wrapped after they followed suit. This leaves one major quarterback situation unresolved.

Dak Prescott remains in a contract year, and the ninth-year Cowboys QB is practicing. Prescott wields tremendous leverage over the Cowboys due to his current contract, and after a summer report indicated the team was planning to make a strong offer, COO Stephen Jones said during an appearance on KTFM San Antonio (h/t The Athletic’s Jon Machota) the ball is in Prescott’s court presently. Whether this means the Cowboys have made their offer or not, the team is waiting to hear from the QB’s camp.

The 30-year-old passer has not detailed his demands yet, but he is set up to do very well. If Prescott is to re-sign with the Cowboys, he will command a contract north of where Lawrence, Love and Joe Burrow have set the bar ($55MM). As we have detailed, Dak cannot be franchise-tagged and adds to his bargaining position via a 2024 cap number ($55.13MM) and the dead money that would hit the Cowboys’ 2025 payroll ($40.13MM) if he is unsigned by the start of the ’25 league year.

“It’s definitely not the money,” Prescott said (via NFL.com’s Jane Slater and Daniel Jeremiah) of his Cowboys situation. “A little bit of it is respect. In the same sense, what motivates me is just coming out here each and every day and getting better and being able to control that, I’m at peace with. … When you focus on that, the money comes. As you said, these other guys, they’re the ones setting the bar in that, and as I said, it’s an obligation that I have to my team, my family, and to the rest of the quarterbacks in the NFL.”

The tag being out of the picture gives Prescott the ability to control this process. The Falcons’ Kirk Cousins contract, despite the veteran QB going into his age-36 season coming off an Achilles tear, illustrates the free agency offers that would likely be available if Prescott hit the market. Prescott has said he wants to finish his career in Dallas but added the obvious caveat that quarterbacks often change teams. Given the makeup of Dallas’ roster, suddenly needing to find a new starting quarterback next year would obviously threaten to unravel this nucleus’ contention prospects.

This all points to the Cowboys needing to make a monster offer — perhaps at or near $60MM per year with favorable guarantees — to prevent their QB from moving toward free agency.

Lamb can be tagged in 2025, but the Cowboys have made an offer. Jones said during his KTFM appearance the team heard back from the All-Pro wideout recently. Lamb is headed into his fifth-year option season. While the Oklahoma alum may not require a contract that makes him the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, the Cowboys will at least need to approach the Justin Jefferson numbers ($35MM AAV, $110MM guaranteed, $88.7MM fully guaranteed) to complete a deal.

“We keep having multiple exchanges with CeeDee,” Jones said. “He actually sent us something late (Sunday). We continue to grind away on it. I would characterize both negotiations as very cordial and upbeat. We’re optimistic we’ll continue to work toward getting something done.”

The Cowboys continue to practice without Lamb, who joins Haason Reddick and Trent Williams as holdouts. The team must fine Lamb $50K per day missed, but with the receiver on a rookie contract, the fines can later be waived. Given the positive tone Jones is trying to convey, it seems likely the Cowboys would waive the fines if Lamb is extended soon. Reports indicating both players are Dallas’ priorities have come out, but the team is clearly eyeing new deals for each offensive pillar.

Cowboys Submit New Extension Offer To WR CeeDee Lamb

July 27th, 2024 at 10:29pm CST by Ely Allen

Still dealing with a rare contract situation in which three players are in the mix for market-setting extensions, the Cowboys have Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb positioned ahead of Micah Parsons in their queue. Differing reports have come out regarding whether Dallas’ quarterback or top wide receiver is the first priority, but the most recent update would point to the latter being in that slot.

COO Stephen Jones told NFL.com’s Jane Slater on Saturday the team has submitted another proposal to Lamb. Jones views the conversations with Lamb’s camp as positive, as the team attempts to hammer out an agreement that will likely be similar to the Vikings’ megadeal for Justin Jefferson.

After indicating both Lamb and Parsons wanted to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, Jones backtracked by saying the fifth-year wide receiver is not demanding that. At $35MM — with guarantees at $110MM (total) and $88.7MM (full) — Jefferson set a high bar this offseason, one that eclipsed Nick Bosa‘s $34MM-AAV deal as the league’s top non-QB contract.

A report earlier this week, coming out just before Lamb made his long-rumored holdout official, indicated the Cowboys had not yet entered substantial talks with the 2020 first-rounder. It appears that has changed, with this offer — which emerged Friday — not being the first during this negotiation. The Cowboys had Lamb on their extension radar last year but did not appear to enter serious talks. That has driven up the price now that Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and A.J. Brown have upped the market this offseason.

On the quarterback front, Jones told the reporters that, apart from Lamb’s deal yesterday, the team also made a contract offer to Prescott’s agents “a few days ago,” per Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News. With yesterday’s extensions of Tua Tagovailoa and Jordan Love, it’s likely that the offer will get tossed aside in order to process the newest information. With Tagovailoa’s deal falling just short in annual average value of the league leaders and Love’s extension tying him with Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence as the highest annual earners of all time, it’s easy to envision a situation in the near future wherein Prescott becomes the NFL’s highest-paid player of all time.

A reason that the Cowboys seem to be a step behind the rest of the league on getting these new deals done could be Jones’ father, Jerry Jones. The elder Jones acts as the team’s owner, president, and general manager. This is of note due to what seems to be Dallas’ view on the salary cap affecting negotiations.

Watkins reports that Jones fears that the league’s monopoly case with DirecTV could affect the NFL’s revenue in the future, ultimately pushing for a reduction, or at least a slower inflation, in the salary cap. Subjectively, this feels like a bit of an empty threat. Aside from the COVID-19-affected 2020 season, NFL revenue has increased at the rate of $1BB per year each year since 2017. Regardless of the result of the DirecTV lawsuit, the NFL has secured broadcasting deals with CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN/ABC, YouTube TV, Amazon, and most recently, Netflix. According to Matt Johnson of sportsnaut.com, the league’s estimated revenue for the 2023-24 season approached $20BB.

Jones claims to know where the NFL salary cap is headed better than anyone else, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. Perhaps he does have information other general managers aren’t privy to, but for now, it projects as a bit of grandstanding in order to excuse a slow resolution to multiple big contract negotiations. With recent offers out to Lamb and Prescott, it seems progress is being made, but there is a lot more work to be done in Dallas.

Sam Robinson contributed to this post.

Cowboys Expect To Extend Dak Prescott; CeeDee Lamb Seeking Top Non-QB Deal?

July 26th, 2024 at 2:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

JULY 26: Walking back his comments about Lamb a bit Friday, Stephen Jones said (via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill) the fifth-year wide receiver is not “dug in” on becoming the league’s highest-paid non-quarterback. Not too much wiggle room exists here, as it would stand to reason Lamb will want to collect more than Brown ($32MM AAV, $84MM guaranteed) did earlier this year. This matter figures to come down to how Lamb’s contract compares to Jefferson’s, with a sizable guarantee gap existing between the Eagles and Vikings receiver extensions.

JULY 25: Beginning their training camp, the Cowboys have not completed any extensions with their top players just yet. A report earlier this week indicated not much progress has emerged with CeeDee Lamb, who is holding out. Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons are in attendance in Oxnard, Calif., but they join Lamb in one of the more interesting contract quandaries in many years.

Parsons said earlier this summer he expected to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback when he signs an extension, though the Cowboys have some time with the 2021 draftee due to the fifth-year option. Lamb is heading into his fifth-year option season, and Cowboys COO Stephen Jones shed some light on the team’s negotiations with the All-Pro wide receiver. Lamb joins Parsons in angling to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, per the second-generation NFL exec.

While Jones stopped short of naming names (via the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins), it is not difficult to learn which players the Dallas bigwig was referencing. Lamb said in January he wanted to be the NFL’s highest-paid wide receiver. The landscape has changed since those comments, with three more wideouts — Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown and Justin Jefferson — crossing the $30MM-per-year barrier. The guarantees in Jefferson’s record-smashing $35MM-per-year deal ($110MM in total, $88.7MM full) far eclipsed previous records, and they have certainly complicated Cowboys-Lamb talks.

Dallas did not enter serious negotiations with Lamb last year, as the Vikings also waited until Year 5 — the norm for first-round wideouts until this offseason, when DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle received early extensions — with Jefferson. The Minnesota contract moves the bar for the Cowboys, who have never guaranteed more than $40MM (Amari Cooper) for a receiver. In Dallas’ defense, only 10 wideouts are tied to deals that contained $40MM at signing.

Jones called having three players who could set the market at their positions “not easy,” and Lamb could still be franchise-tagged in 2025. Though, the fifth-year wideout is attempting to force the issue by holding out; Zack Martin did so and succeeded last year. A tag is off the table for Prescott, who holds tremendous leverage with no-tag and no-trade clauses. Prescott’s monster cap number ($55.13MM) this year and void years-driven $40.13MM dead money figure for 2025 give him rare ammo to use against a team also dealing with Lamb and Parsons.

Although the ninth-year QB could maneuver his way to free agency fairly easily, Jerry Jones does not believe 2024 will be Prescott’s Dallas finale. A $60MM-per-year price tag has been rumored for Dak, who may soon have more to work with should the Jordan Love and Tua Tagovailoa deals cross the goal lines in Green Bay and Miami soon.

“Just to be very specific. I do not think this will be his last year with the Cowboys, at all,” Jones said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota (subscription required). “I want to say if it hasn’t been clear — of how much we appreciate what Dak Prescott has meant to this team in a positive way. The players do play better when he’s out there. He does make his teammates play at a higher level there’s no question about it. So I’m right there in line with his best fan.”

Differing reports have come out regarding whether Prescott or Lamb is the team’s immediate priority. It would stand to reason Prescott would be due to his unique situation, as Lamb can still be tagged. The Cowboys are believed to be set to make their longtime starter a strong offer, one that would drop his record-setting (along with Deshaun Watson and other QBs this year) cap number and give the Cowboys some security.

Prescott prefers to stay in Dallas as well, though the 2023 second-team All-Pro stopped short of guaranteeing his career will unfold entirely with the franchise. As legendary figures like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana and countless other greats have shown, of course, QBs regularly do not go wire-to-wire with the teams that drafted them. Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman and Tony Romo did, though.

“I’m gonna say it. I want to be here, but when you look [it] up, all the other great quarterbacks that I watched played for other teams [than their first team],” Prescott said, via Yahoo’s Charles Robinson. “… That’s not something to fear.”

Prescott, 30, has not been afraid to maximize his leverage; it took three offseasons for him to sign his current four-year, $160MM contract. Hinting at a future departure is not out of character, and the Cowboys will need to make a whopping offer to ensure they keep their former fourth-round find off next year’s market, where a host of suitors would await.

Stephen Jones On Cowboys’ Extension Efforts

July 19th, 2024 at 10:02am CST by Adam La Rose

With training camps beginning to open around the NFL, numerous extension agreements are likely to be finalized in the near future. For the Cowboys, negotiations on several fronts are ongoing.

COO Stephen Jones made an appearance on The Athletic’s Scoop City podcast to discuss where things currently stand with respect to contract talks for quarterback Dak Prescott, wideout CeeDee Lamb and edge rusher Micah Parsons. Prescott and Lamb are entering the final year of their respective deals, and keeping both in the fold while leaving enough cap resources to extend Parsons will prove to be a challenge. It is one the Cowboys are optimistic can be met, though.

“Well those things take time,” Jones said. “And we’re talking about deals here. You know when you’re talking about CeeDee and Dak and you know somebody like a Micah coming up. I mean you’re talking about two players that aren’t quarterbacks that feel like they ought to be a little bit like [Justin] Jefferson, the top-paid non-quarterbacks in the league.

“And, of course, we’ve got a big one in Dak. And we got [Trevon] Diggs right there. And then you got Zack Martin and [DeMarcus Lawrence]. And so we got a lot of guys making you know quite a bit of money. And you know that’s no excuses. We think we can get this done, know we can get it done. But it just takes time.”

Prescott’s deal is positioned to check in at the highest AAV figure, but both Lamb and Parsons have been connected to an asking price which would allow them to top their respective markets. Dallas is not looking to go to those lengths, though in any event much will depend on the particulars of Prescott’s extension. When addressing the latter point, Jones confirmed he and owner Jerry Jones have been in communication with Prescott himself as well as agent Todd France.

A Prescott accord will likely be finalized before one for Lamb – something which could lead to a training camp holdout if the franchise record-setting wideout does not have a deal in hand in the near future. Week 1 represents a more firm deadline, of course, but the start of camp will be an interesting checkpoint to watch for as Dallas continues to negotiate multiple big-ticket extensions. If the Prescott talks gain traction during the coming days, at least one item off the team’s checklist could be taken care of.

NFL Active Leaders In Career Earnings

July 13th, 2024 at 10:00pm CST by Ben Levine

Kirk Cousins‘ four-year, $180MM deal with the Falcons this season vaulted him up the list of active career earners. This was by virtue of his $50MM signing bonus, adding to the more than $231MM he earned from the Commanders and (mostly) the Vikings throughout his career. Even under the worst-case scenario, Cousins will still see at least another $50MM come his way via his contract with Atlanta, which would push his career earnings north of $331MM.

While the soon-to-be 36-year-old Cousins will surely see a significant portion of the $80MM worth of unguaranteed money on his contract, he’ll still be hard pressed to catch Aaron Rodgers on the career-earnings list. Rodgers earned more than $306MM during his long tenure in Green Bay, and he’s already made close to $37MM during his one season in New York (mostly via the $35MM signing bonus on his reworked pact).

With at least $40MM of additional guarantees coming his way from the Jets, Rodgers will continue to grow his lead as the highest-earning NFL player of all time. Both Rodgers and Matthew Stafford were able to leap Tom Brady among the NFL’s highest all-time earners over the past year.

With all that said, we’ve listed the 25 active players who have earned the most money in their NFL careers (h/t to OverTheCap.com). While this list is up to date, it doesn’t account for soon-to-realized salaries for the 2024 campaign. This list is also solely focused on NFL cash and does not include off-the-field earnings:

QB Aaron Rodgers: $343MM
QB Matthew Stafford: $328MM
QB Russell Wilson: $305MM
QB Kirk Cousins: $281MM
QB Jared Goff: $234MM
LB Von Miller: $179MM
QB Joe Flacco: $177MM
OT Trent Williams: $171MM
QB Derek Carr: $165MM
LB Khalil Mack: $162MM
QB Dak Prescott: $161MM
DL Aaron Donald: $157MM
QB Jimmy Garoppolo: $150MM
DE Calais Campbell: $143MM
QB Deshaun Watson: $142MM
QB Patrick Mahomes: $136MM
DE Joey Bosa: $134MM
DL Leonard Williams: $134MM
WR Mike Evans: $132MM
QB Carson Wentz: $130MM
WR DeAndre Hopkins: $128MM
WR Stefon Diggs: $126MM
DE Cameron Jordan: $126MM
OT Lane Johnson: $121MM
DT Chris Jones: $120MM

Community Tailgate: The Cowboys’ Contract Dilemma

July 10th, 2024 at 10:34pm CST by Sam Robinson

The 2019 Cowboys offseason featured several extension candidates. The team ended up paying most of them, giving extensions to Ezekiel Elliott, Dak Prescott, La’el Collins and Jaylon Smith. Dallas eventually re-signed Amari Cooper, though he hit free agency before that deal was finalized. Byron Jones departed for Miami shortly before the Cooper agreement.

Although one of the extensions — Prescott’s — affects where the Cowboys are now, this offseason’s dilemma dwarfs where Dallas stood five years ago. Three players — Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons — are either in contract years or eligible for an extension. Each member of the trio can make a case to become the highest-paid player at his position. For Lamb and Parsons, that means the highest-paid non-QB. Prescott has unique leverage to force the issue into not only becoming the NFL’s highest-paid player but creating a gap between himself and No. 2 on that list.

The Cowboys are not believed to want to set markets, but they may not have a choice. This qualifies as a good problem, given the talent Parsons and Lamb have displayed on their rookie deals. Prescott has not proven himself to be as good at his position compared to the younger Cowboys stars, but as an upper-echelon quarterback, he would carry significant leverage even if his contract situation veered toward a standard place.

But Dak’s circumstances are far from standard. The former Day 3 sensation bucked the trend by playing out his fourth season, for fourth-round money, and waiting on an extension. This meant a year on the franchise tag. Despite that 2020 season being cut short by an ankle injury that still impacts him today, Prescott secured a four-year, $160MM deal just before the March 2021 deadline to apply franchise tags. Prescott became the outlier Cowboy standout, signing for less than five years, and his leverage-maximization tactics led to a procedural franchise tag and a no-trade clause. Part one of that effort looms large years later.

It is hard to overstate how much leverage the Cowboys have given their ninth-year quarterback. Not only can Prescott not be tagged or traded, an offseason restructure placed a $40.13MM dead money figure in play for 2025. That penalty would hit Dallas’ 2025 cap sheet if Prescott is not re-signed before the start of the 2025 league year. The Vikings are taking this medicine after Kirk Cousins departed in March, though Minnesota’s dead cap hit from that defection is $28.5MM.

Prescott is also tied to what would be a record-setting 2024 cap number ($55.13MM) — Dak, Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones would each set that record barring changes to their contracts — but the void years on his contract threaten a future penalty. A Zack Martin restructure would also give Dallas a $26.5MM dead cap hit if he is not re-signed before the ’25 league year. Prescott, 30, securing a deal in the $60MM-per-year ballpark should be considered in play based on the ammo he carries.

While the 49ers have seen their Brandon Aiyuk talks impacted by another receiver market boom, the Cowboys are more directly affected by what took place in Minnesota last month. The Vikings gave Justin Jefferson a $35MM-per-year deal that includes record-smashing guarantees ($110MM in total, $88.7MM at signing). The latter figure hovers a staggering $36MM north of the next-closest wideout. Aiyuk has been tied to wanting a guarantee north of $80MM; Lamb — a two-time Pro Bowler and 2023 first-team All-Pro — has proven more and can make a stronger case for Jefferson-level terms.

As they prepare to make a strong Prescott offer, the Cowboys may well have their QB in place as a higher priority compared to their top pass catcher. Lamb can be tagged in 2025, and while the team has used its franchise tag in six of the past seven years, a cap hold near $25MM would be an issue. Though, the Cowboys — albeit without Prescott, Martin and Lamb signed for 2025 — are projected to hold more than $64MM in cap space next year. They would have an easier time tagging Lamb than the 49ers would cuffing Aiyuk. For 2024, a Lamb holdout looms. Martin succeeded down this path last year, but Lamb’s matter is different due to the WR seeking a monster extension instead of more security on an existing contract.

Expecting to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, Parsons has said waiting until 2025 for his payday would be acceptable. Another cap jump and another dominant season would put him on track to command close to $40MM per year, though the Cowboys do not expect next year’s cap spike to match this year’s $30.6MM jump. If the Cowboys do finalize extensions for Prescott and Lamb this year, will three top-market contracts be a workable scenario?

Of the three, Parsons is probably the best overall player. The three-time All-Pro is tied to a 2025 fifth-year option and could be tagged in 2026, separating this matter from the near-future Prescott and Lamb deadlines. But the Cowboys will certainly need to factor in a Parsons payday as they navigate talks for their QB-WR combo.

The team would have saved money by extending Prescott or Lamb last year, but the team checked off other boxes — re-ups for Trevon Diggs and Terence Steele — as these expensive matters lingered. Time is running out for Jerry Jones and Co. to begin enacting solutions before training camp.

How will the team end up resolving this quandary? As costs rise, will trade rumors emerge surrounding one of the standouts? Weigh in with your thoughts on the Cowboys’ situation in PFR’s latest Community Tailgate.

Dak Prescott Not Eyeing Camp Holdout

July 9th, 2024 at 3:02pm CST by Sam Robinson

Attempting to again indicate his recent walking boot storyline was overblown, Dak Prescott also confirmed contract talks between he and the Cowboys have transpired this offseason. As it stands, the second-team All-Pro passer remains tied to the four-year, $160MM extension he signed in March 2021.

Prescott joins CeeDee Lamb in a contract year, but while the first-team All-Pro wide receiver has been connected to a holdout, the Cowboys are unlikely to see their first set of workouts commence without their starting quarterback. Prescott alluded (via ESPN.com’s Todd Archer) to Day 1 attendance at training camp.

It would cost Prescott approximately $50K per day to hold out, though that would seem doable for a player who has banked more than $162MM despite playing four seasons on a fourth-round rookie contract. Zack Martin succeeded with a holdout last year, seeing the Cowboys agree to guarantee the final two years of his deal, while Lamb has only seen rookie-deal money to date. Prescott still holds tremendous leverage against the Cowboys, but talks may commence from camp.

The Cowboys are believed to want the Dak matter sorted out before revving up negotiations with Lamb. Considering Prescott’s first extension took three offseasons to finalize, that could be a dicey matter for a team that may well have three market-setting extensions to complete. Micah Parsons expects to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, and while the star edge rusher appears OK with playing a fourth season on his rookie deal and then inking a monster extension in 2025, the Cowboys will obviously need to factor in that payday during their Prescott and Lamb talks.

Prescott, 30, holds a no trade clause and cannot be franchise-tagged in 2025. Prescott ($55.13MM), Deshaun Watson ($63.77MM) and Daniel Jones ($47.86MM) are on track to break the single-player cap number record this season. The Cowboys can lower Dak’s number significantly with an extension, which would also prevent a $40.14MM void years bill from becoming 2025 dead money. It is difficult for a player to secure more leverage than Prescott has, which would make it surprising if he did not become the NFL’s highest-paid player on his third contract.

As for Prescott’s walking boot, the QB said he wore the boot for precautionary purposes. Post-minicamp workouts produced ankle soreness, with the former Offensive Rookie of the Year again connecting his ankle pain to the surgery he underwent in 2020. Prescott suffered an ankle fracture and dislocation in October 2020 but still managed to secure a big-ticket extension months later.

“Honestly, I’m getting older. It’s the same ankle that I snapped, and I had a nasty surgery on four years ago so a couple of hard days of training and you know, you get a little sore and you’re going on a fishing trip, and you want to protect it and make sure things don’t get worse,” Prescott said.

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Sustains Foot Sprain

July 4th, 2024 at 4:53pm CST by Sam Robinson

4:53pm: Bringing this holiday-based boot storyline to a close, ESPN.com’s Todd Archer notes Prescott indeed suffered a minor foot sprain but is no longer wearing the boot. Although Prescott still dealing with effects from his 2020 ankle break and dislocation is notable, it appears this brief storyline will wrap with fears of a serious midsummer setback put to rest.

3:02pm: Following the reports of a foot sprain, Prescott attempted to reassure Cowboys fans. The talented QB texted, “I’m great,” via the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Clarence Hill. Prescott said the ankle he injured in 2020 swelled during his last time deep sea fishing, per Hill, and wore the boot as a precautionary measure.

The boot is, however, part of a maintenance effort Prescott has needed to conduct due to lingering effects from his 2020 ankle fracture. That injury has not impacted the former Offensive Rookie of the Year’s availability since he returned in 2021, and he said no restrictions are expected at training camp.

1:40pm: Dak Prescott scored his current contract despite coming off a season-ending ankle injury. The Cowboys quarterback’s latest contract talks will now be coming off another injury.

The ninth-year QB sustained a foot sprain that has required a walking boot, per the Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins. It is not known when Prescott sustained the injury, but Watkins adds it is not believed to be serious. Prescott is vacationing in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, presently, with a boot visible on his right foot. He has worn the boot for a week, per Watkins, calling into question when the injury occurred. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport classifies this as a “very minor” injury.

It would be unlikely this injury provides a serious impediment to the Cowboys extending Prescott this year. They are planning to present a strong offer, creating more distance from early-offseason reports that suggested the team may be willing to let this process reach free agency next year. Prescott is believed to reside above CeeDee Lamb in the Cowboys’ extension queue.

How and when Prescott sustained the injury will be notable, of course, as will the extent of the issue. The Cowboys break for training camp later this month, and any Prescott stay on the active/PUP list — a camp-only designation that does not impact regular-season availability — will naturally generate attention. The Cowboys last held a practice on June 5, potentially pointing to the 30-year-old passer sustaining this injury away from team headquarters. Though, that is not confirmed.

Prescott damaged his right ankle during an October 2020 game against the Giants but was still able to secure a four-year, $160MM deal that has created significant leverage for him as talks on a third contract unfold. While Prescott also missed five games due to a thumb injury in 2022, he has otherwise been durable throughout his career. Dak played all 18 Cowboys games last season, marking the sixth time in his career he has avoided missing time in a campaign due to injury, and earned second-team All-Pro acclaim for his performance.

Prescott’s bounce-back effort solidified his value, putting him — considering the leverage he holds with the franchise tag out of the equation and a steep 2025 dead money bill on tap if no extension occurs — on the radar for a deal approaching $60MM annually.

Cowboys Aiming To Finalize Dak Prescott Extension Before CeeDee Lamb?

June 17th, 2024 at 10:05pm CST by Adam La Rose

With minicamp now in the books, the period leading up to Cowboys’ training camp will be dominated by progress on extension talks for Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons. The latter is under contract for two more years, so he is not as pressing of a financial priority this summer.

Prescott has firmly remained in Dallas’ plans beyond the 2024 campaign, one in which he is set to carry a cap hit of $55.13MM. With no-tag and no-trade clauses in his deal, last season’s MVP runner-up has plenty of leverage in a potential bid to reach the top of the quarterback market. A report from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler earlier this month indicated the Cowboys are set to make a “strong offer” to keep Prescott in the fold.

To little surprise, that has placed the 30-year-old at the top of the pecking order in terms of lucrative Dallas extensions. Fowler noted in a recent SportsCenter appearance that the Cowboys want to work out the Prescott accord before those of Lamb and Parsons (video link). Such an approach would come as little surprise, considering the respective cap situations of the three players and the nature of the quarterback (as opposed to receiver and edge rush) markets.

Prescott is a candidate to set a new standard in terms of annual average compensation on his next deal; both Joe Burrow (Bengals) and Trevor Lawrence (Jaguars) are currently at $55MM in that regard. The former fourth-rounder has publicly stated that his latest round of negotiations will not be as centered on finances as the last one, and the extent to which that holds true will be a key factor in this process. As Fowler confirms, the Cowboys have not yet aggressively engaged in extension talks with Prescott.

If that continues for the time being, Lamb will be left to wait for serious negotiations of his own. The three-time Pro Bowler did not take part in OTAs or mandatory minicamp as he continues to seek out an extension. Lamb has seen Justin Jefferson reset the top of the receiver market with his $35MM-per-year Vikings pact, and his own value could be similar. Given the surge in lucrative receiver pacts signed by other top producers at the position recently, Lamb will have significant leverage after any potential Prescott deal is hammered out.

Of course, new agreements for either member of that pair will have to be made with Parsons in mind as well. Under contract in 2025 via his fifth-year option, Parsons is aiming to usurp Jefferson as the league’s top paid non-quarterback. The resources Dallas has available to meet that goal (likely next offseason) will largely depend on the progress made with Prescott and Lamb – in that order – during the near future.

Cowboys Prepared To Make Strong Dak Prescott Offer

June 4th, 2024 at 9:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Plenty of extension candidates and recipients have come through Cowboys headquarters in recent years, as the team has strung together three straight 12-win seasons. But this profiles as a unique offseason for the oft-discussed franchise, as three cornerstone players — Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons — are each extension-eligible.

Both Prescott and Lamb are in contract years; the latter has not shown for minicamp this week. Two seasons remain on Parsons’ deal, via the fifth-year option. Prescott resides in the most interesting situation — due to the terms of his current contract.

Dallas’ QB cannot be franchise-tagged, and a no-trade clause gives the MVP runner-up security on that front as well. As of now, Prescott’s cap number ($55.13MM) trails Deshaun Watson‘s ($63.77MM). Both numbers would shatter an NFL record for a cap figure in-season.

Absent another restructure, the Browns could be ready to take some medicine on their Watson contract. The Cowboys, however, have a clear motivation to complete an extension. Although a report in the spring suggested Dallas was open to having Prescott reach free agency, pushback emerged soon after pointing to the team — as should be expected — having no desire to move to the free agency cliff with their QB. The team is “all in” on a Prescott extension, ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler noted during a recent Get Up appearance.

The “all in” phrase has become a bit tiresome when connected to this Cowboys offseason, but the team has made clear it wants to do a third deal with Prescott. Thus far, however, Fowler notes the team has taken a passive approach here. The Cowboys waiting with Lamb has likely cost some money, especially considering the monster guarantees the Vikings gave Justin Jefferson. As more quarterback deals are completed, that will certainly affect Dallas-Dak talks. The sides have been in discussions since March, though it is clear these talks have not reached the serious stage.

As the offseason winds down, the Cowboys will need to operate in a more urgent fashion with their ninth-year QB. They are planning to make a strong offer at some point this summer, Fowler adds. Considering the way Prescott operated during his first negotiation, the numbers associated with these discussions remain a central 2024 NFL storyline. Prescott bounced back from a down 2022, throwing an NFL-most 36 TD passes (compared to just nine INTs) and ranking second in QBR, to boost his market. Though, it would have been strong regardless.

While the 30-year-old passer downplayed his desire for a market-setting contract, the shrewd negotiations that led to his four-year, $160MM extension in March 2021 point have the Cowboys battling uphill. The team’s inability to tag Prescott and a recent restructure inflating the void years-driven penalty to $40.1MM in 2025 dead money leave the former fourth-round pick in the driver’s seat.

How the Cowboys handle this Prescott-Lamb-Parsons situation will be one of the more interesting contract chapters in recent league history. A quarterback on a deal at or near $60MM per year and a wideout on track for a near-Jefferson-level payment would be difficult enough, but Parsons having a clear case — thanks to his accomplishments and the cap increase — to top Nick Bosa‘s defender-record contract by a notable margin creates quite the crunch for the Cowboys, whose depth will be tested should the team indeed go through with extensions for all three.

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