The raise for and vote of confidence in Prescott is well deserved. The 31-year-old signal-caller is coming off a career year, in which he led the league with 410 completions and 36 touchdowns and finished second in MVP voting. Prescott’s marked improvement from the 2022 season, when he played just 12 games but still paced the NFL with 15 interceptions, proved that the QB was getting better with age, a pillar to still build around rather than one to abandon.
By signing Prescott before he was slated to hit unfettered free agency in 2025, Dallas avoided their franchise QB reaching the market with unheard-of leverage. In addition to his no-trade clause, Prescott benefitted in negotiations from having already been franchise-tagged twice. If Dallas was to tag him a third time, they would have owed Prescott upwards of $80 million, a prohibitive number even for the cash-rich Cowboys.
Sunday’s news ends an offseason of consternation for Jones and the ‘Boys, who from the start of training camp faced questions about the future of Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons in Big D. Jones was quite confident all summer about the state of his big stars at The Star, telling reporters he was embracing the “ambiguity” of Dallas’ good problem. The Cowboys owner said late last month that the team didn’t need to get Dak’s deal done before the start of the 2024 season, but Sunday’s soft deadline spurred action.
“I’m happy that it’s done,” Jones said. “This was a time when it was right there for us to do. We were all set to go and it was critical. I’ve seen so many things that were worthy of doing that were not done because you missed the timing to make it happen. Opening Day, up here against Cleveland, this was a great time to make it happen.
“I think we all felt a little energy to come on in and get to a point where we could say yes. I’ve known all along what a great player Dak is, and I’m satisfied everybody understands I understand [that].”
With Prescott and Lamb now under contract, each near record levels, Dallas can turn its attention to a critical 2024 season and to re-signing the two-time All-Pro and perennial Defensive Player of Year candidate Parsons, who is entering his fourth season with the Cowboys. The star linebacker is under contract through the 2025 season after Dallas exercised his fifth-year option earlier this year, giving Cowboys brass room to breathe before they shell out more cash on big-time extensions.
For now, the Cowboys can say with confidence they’re finally and truly “all in” — on Prescott, their quarterback of the present and future.
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