Dallas City News

The last tiny bit of football activity that the Dallas Cowboys will go through until the rigors of Oxnard’s training camp in July happened at The Star, with minicamp also providing some quotes from veterans and coaches alike. This time of year on the NFL calendar is marked by one predictable yearly tradition – reports of players being in the best shape of their life, having more confidence than ever, and coaches feeling great about their team’s chances.

Front and center, the starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys, via head coach Mike McCarthy:

“I think Dak is having his best offseason program that we’ve had,” McCarthy said. “This atmosphere that we’ve practiced in with the quarterback and receivers has really hit the mark. I’ve been very impressed with the quality of work.”

For a Cowboys team whose offseason practice headlines have been much more about who isn’t on the field with CeeDee Lamb holding out for a new contract and Micah Parsons opting to work individually through OTAs, perhaps these optimistic reports on the players that are actually showing up for work can be a little more welcomed. Especially for Dak Prescott who is preparing to play out the final year of his contract alongside McCarthy in 2024.

Although Dallas has made no firm commitment to their head coach or starting quarterback beyond this season, they will still be counting on the duo that’s produced 12 regular season wins for the last three seasons to get results in a contract year. Obviously the team may still sign their quarterback to a new contract before the season begins, but at this point Prescott would be playing his last season under contract for Dallas. Turning up the pressure internally on these cornerstone parts of the team is a bold move.

The singular question following the end of the 2023 season at the hands of the Green Bay Packers was how the Cowboys can stop wasting talented rosters and regular-season results by finding a way to play their best in high-pressure games, and now with training camp within the windshield view, the answer is clear that Dallas’ front office still mostly trusted their own process.

A status quo free agency and draft that focused heavily on the offensive line leaves concerns about how Prescott can elevate McCarthy’s offense in the second year of the new scheme with new faces at receiver and running back. This is actually an area where even minicamp reps can be valuable, making these comments from McCarthy about Prescott’s offseason to this point interesting.

“With the quarterback, when the connection is there in the perimeter realm – and that’s been the majority of our physical activity – the connection is better,” McCarthy said. “The receivers are playing with more urgency, more reps. The timing is better. The real test will be when we get to training camp.”

The other intriguing thing about these glowing comments from McCarthy is the way they compare to his more disappointed stance on Micah Parsons missing OTAs, looking for the team’s best defensive player to be a leader in-person the same way Prescott has been for the offense. The margin for error is so razor thin this season for a Cowboys team that will still play out their league-leading six primetime games and have every narrative possible about their future discussed for the world to see. This gives McCarthy any reason to cling onto what’s already worked for him over his tenure in Dallas – the foremost being Prescott playing at an MVP-level through much of last season.

Prescott has taken every opportunity to tell the media and fans that he’s welcoming the pressure of this season possibly being his last with the Cowboys, but the 60-year old McCarthy offered a more matured look at what it means to also be playing out a contract season along with several other key coaches.

When Cowboys backup QB Trey Lance, and not Prescott, had been getting more positive attention up to this point, it’s good to see even a brief minicamp help restore some order as to how exactly this Cowboys team plans on repeating as NFC East champions – leaning on their starting QB to be a clear cut above at least the other competition in the division.

The best possible offseason for Dak Prescott coming at the same time both he and the team’s head coach are facing the most pressure and adversity, something they both have been fairly criticized for not handling as well as needed, is nothing to scoff at. It also needs to be just the start of this duo getting on-field results unlike anything they’ve accomplished to this point. If quieting all the other outside noise that’s surrounded this team in recent weeks is seen as an important offseason step towards focusing on this goal, McCarthy was able to do so briefly at the podium on Wednesday by bringing things back to the starting quarterback.

As for who that QB is throwing to, handing the ball off to, and the players that will be blocking for him up front, all of that is to be determined as the countdown to a September 8th opener in Cleveland is already on, and “best offseason” must quickly become “best season” for many of these players and coaches.