Dallas City News

All the quarterbacks have been re-signed! Oh, wait. Almost all.

It shouldn’t be surprising that the Dallas Cowboys are the last team standing when re-signing their franchise quarterback. Some of us aren’t even sure if that’s going to happen. With every new day that passes without Dak Prescott getting a new deal more narratives sneak through the door and right now Cowboys Nation is all over the place with their feels.

Are the Cowboys preparing to move on from him?

When are they going to sign him?

Should Dak just play this year out and then leave this circus behind him?

These are the biggest questions regarding the team’s quarterback and it’s not going to end until the Cowboys can close the deal. Fortunately, that day is growing nearer and we’ll finally be able to put this story to rest. That’s because the Cowboys will sign Dak by September and here are five supporting arguments to help plead our case.

Why the Cowboys aren’t moving on from him…

This seems obvious on the surface, but it becomes even more convincing when we lay all the evidence on the table.

EXHIBIT A – Dak’s a good quarterback

This is a beating a dead horse, but sometimes it’s warranted. Prescott is a good quarterback. His numbers are good, he’s got a strong arm, his decisions are good, and he’s a leader among men. It’s hard to look at Prescott and not find what you’re looking for in a quarterback. One doesn’t finish second in MVP voting by being mediocre.

EXHIBIT B – The front office is not good at drafting quarterbacks

The Cowboys are really good at drafting players, but they are better at some positions than others. Offensive linemen, for example, they’re outstanding. Defensive tackles? Not so much.

When it comes to the quarterback position, the Cowboys aren’t very good at evaluating talent. Since Troy Aikman, the team has drafted six quarterbacks and only one of them was starter-worthy. We’ll let you decide which one between Ben DiNucci (2020), Mike White (2018), Dak Prescott (2016), Stephen McGee (2009), Isaiah Stanback (2007), and Quincy Carter (2001).

The Cowboys have been incredibly lucky when it comes to the quarterback position. Tony Romo was an undrafted free agent who came in and saved the Cowboys from a potpourri of dreadful quarterbacks. And even selecting Prescott was by pure chance as the Cowboys considered not once, but twice trading up for Paxton Lynch and Connor Cook before settling for that Dak fella.

EXHIBIT C – The front office knows how hard it is to win without a good QB

This team has no contingency plan. The Trey Lance experiment is not something they’d be willing to risk their entire livelihood on and no one knows better how a lackluster quarterback can send your team into purgatory for several years. Why would Jerry Jones, who is extremely long in the tooth, up and decide that’s the route he wants to go after having a first-row seat to the disaster that existed between Aikman and Romo? He wouldn’t. No further questions, your honor.

Convincing the jury that the Cowboys front office is guilty of believing in their quarterback can be done beyond a reasonable doubt, but what about figuring out when they’ll sign him?

Why the Cowboys will sign him by September…

We all know the lyrics to that Earth, Wind, and Fire song that goes, “Do you remember, the very first week of September?” Okay, so maybe those aren’t the exact lyrics, but they’re close enough because when it comes to the Cowboys’ shining star, the front office will want to lock him down before the season officially begins. Here’s why.

EXHIBIT D – They do not want to pay a ridiculous amount next offseason

This whole charade is about money. Some believe the front office is shooting themselves in the foot by waiting, but they are up to something. What it is exactly, we can’t say without speculating (length of terms? guaranteed money? escape valve? etc.), but a team trying really hard to squeeze their star players on the payroll is looking for any edge they can. And the Joneses are very mindful of cap projections, so if they have apprehensions, there’s likely a good reason for it.

It’s not clear what factors are most important to them, but what they most definitely don’t want is to let Prescott enter free agency next offseason. They don’t have the franchise tag in their pocket this time so this would force them to compete with any QB-desperate team in the NFL and cause his asking price to skyrocket. This type of waiting would, in fact, increase his cost.

EXHIBIT E – They don’t want the drama of a QB playing in a lame-duck year

If we assumed that Jerry Jones doesn’t like money and was perfectly content with “seeing what happens this year,” think of what that would mean. The entire 2024 season would be played with this heavy cloud over them with a stormy forecast looming ahead. If you think Jerry gets sick of answering questions about the job security of his head coach, how much do you think he’ll enjoy being asked about Dak’s future week in and week out? It would be total madness and although many have accepted that the Cowboys are a circus, this type of drama would take it to another level.

After hearing the evidence presented before you, how do the people of the BTB community find the defendant? What is your verdict?