The Cowboys’ actions regarding Dak Prescott’s …
What the Cowboys do with Dak Prescott’s contract will tell us a lot.
While our primary focus is on finding a new defensive coordinator to succeed Dan Quinn, now the head coach of the Washington Commanders, we remain vigilant in gathering clues about the Dallas Cowboys’ plans in this uncertain year. With Mike McCarthy as a lame duck head coach and several current assistants in the final year of their contracts, there’s a potential for a significant defensive staff turnover, with some possibly joining Quinn in Washington. Jerry Jones’ somewhat ambiguous remarks about being “all in” for this year further complicate the situation.In a conversation with our managing editor Dave Halprin, he mentioned one thing that might tell us more than anything else about what the team is up to: How they handle Dak Prescott’s contract. It made a ton of sense to me. Here’s why.As with so many decisions the team makes, this starts with the salary cap. According to Over the Cap, they are currently about $20 million in the hole as the start of the league year approaches. Prescott’s contract can be manipulated to create more cap space than any other, although his will not be the only one they have to work on. They are going to need space as they have several of their own free agents to consider re-signing, such as Tyron Smith. But there are two things they can do with Prescott. The one most commonly addressed is to extend him. Like McCarthy, Prescott is in the final year of his current deal, with a huge cap hit for this season. The most commonly discussed thing is to extend him. That would generate over $26 million in space. It is a logical step to take with the franchise quarterback.