Cowboys news: Dallas dials up intensity before training camp

Cowboys intensity dialed up before training camp – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com

If the Cowboys’ minicamp is a glimpse of what is to come at training camp, intensity and competition will be high.

There were several big plays made in minicamp, by both the offense and the defense, and each made sure the other side suffered celebration and raucous trash talk every single time.

One example being when newly-added linebacker Eric Kendricks showed he can still potentially perform at an All-Pro level by fully extending to create a tip drill on a pass to the middle flat by Prescott, one that was intercepted by a diving Donovan Wilson in traffic in the back of the end zone on 7-on-7 drills.

The defense went crazy with the sideline clearing as they ran past Prescott in defiance.

On the very next play, however, Prescott threw a frozen rope through a keyhole to find a streaking Brandin Cooks in the back of the end zone through several defenders for a touchdown — the offense repaying the celebratory favors as Prescott threw both arms in the air and looked at the defensive sideline asking, “What now?!”.

It was giving very real Oxnard vibes … but nearly seven weeks ahead of schedule.

“We all know I love to compete and talk trash,” Prescott said of the early intensity. “That’s the base of it. You have to have fun doing this. We all know, each and every day, we’re gonna come in and we’re gonna compete against each other.

Fanduel releases Dak Prescott’s over/under for passing yards – Koby Skillern, Sports Illustrated

How many passing yards will Dak Prescott have in 2024?

Following an MVP-caliber year in which he racked up over 4500 yards and 36 touchdowns, FanDuel has set the over/under for Dak Prescott’s passing yardage total at a measly 4075.5 yards.

One thing to consider is that Prescott will be heading into a contract year in 2024 and is ready to prove his value in hopes of a major payday.

Historically, quarterbacks always have a career year in the last year of their contracts.

What’s Up at Safety? Thomas, Bell to infuse youth – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com

Who will step up to fill Jayron Kearse’s shoes in the safety room for the Dallas Cowboys?

The emergence of Juanyeh Thomas achieves the same goal, as does the move to place Markquese Bell back at safety following an experiment at linebacker in 2023.

But there are also others to discuss in this equation as well and, as it stands, none of them are Jayron Kearse, a vacancy that must be filled by any one (or more) of the young, talented safeties who desperately want snaps alongside Hooker and Wilson.

With that, it’s time to discuss “What’s Up” at safety in Dallas.

What We Know: This is one of the most promising position groups on the entire roster for the Cowboys, but that doesn’t mean nothing can go wrong. It will be important that Juanyeh Thomas continues his upward trajectory but, this time, as a starter in the post-Jayron Kearse era, and the same applies for Markquese Bell as he reverts back to safety. Follow Malik Hooker’s lead and prosper, or at least that should be the formula. The exception being Donovan Wilson, who is mostly one of a kind in this defense — key word being “mostly”.

What We Don’t: Will the next Kearse please step up? Is it Thomas, given his versatility and ability to both be physical and cover, two items needed to defend tight ends? Or is it Bell, who is also versatile and physical, and no longer taking on linebacker duties? I expect this to be a fun battle between two guys who have both earned the right, and who are both in Year 3.

Cardinals, Cowboys Nearly Traded on Draft Night – Donnie Druin, Sports Illustrated

The Lions weren’t the only team looking to trade for Dallas’ first-round pick on draft night.

“Miami’s on the clock at 21 – six players are going to come off the board. If we get a couple picks to go our way, we might just sit. We’re talking to Dallas – Dallas is interested in bailing. The one we got to worry about here is Green Bay for the big guy [Robinson],” said Ossenfort on draft night.

Ossenfort then contacted Dallas and offered picks 27 and 104 for 24 and 174 – “obviously depending on if our guy’s there.”

When the 24th pick was on the clock, Ossenfort was spotted pacing back and forth in the war room saying, “come on. Come on.”

The Cowboys ultimately traded their pick to the Detroit Lions, who drafted Alabama CB Terrion Arnold – a player the Cardinals showed interest in throughout the draft process. Detroit offered pick 29 and 73 for 24 and a 2025 seventh rounder.

How Cowboys price for Dak Prescott is affected by Jaguars new extension for Trevor Lawrence – RJ Ochoa, BloggingTheBoys.com

Another massive leaf has fallen from the NFL contracts tree. How does this affect Dak Prescott’s price tag?

Thursday afternoon saw a leaf fall and this one is shaped like a quarterback contract. The Jacksonville Jaguars locked down Trevor Lawrence to a new deal, one that sees him reach $55M per year. This was the bar that Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow set a year ago.

Bypassing the argument of whether or not Dak Prescott is worth this or that, we’ll go on an assumption that the Cowboys believe Prescott is worth signing to a new deal. If we assume/believe/whatever-you-want-to-say this is the case, then there is no question that waiting and dragging the process out is costing them money. We can debate whether Lawrence is better than Prescott, but does anybody believe Lawrence is better than Joe Burrow to use the bar he just reached? Of course not, for those who want to have arguments in that way.

Did that matter, though? Did Trevor Lawrence objectively being “not as good” as Joe Burrow hinder him in this way? Did Lawrence not match Burrow on an average annual value basis? Obviously none of it mattered because the market is the market and this is a supply and demand world. If you want a franchise quarterback and are dealing with one capable of working the market to their advantage then you are going to have to pay market rate.

The Cowboys may very well believe that for all we know, but not coming to terms with Prescott is seeing numbers rise and rise and rise (although one writer here at BTB believes this to be inconsequential relative to the bigger picture).

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