Actions communicate louder than phrases, as they are saying, and the enterprise of the NFL isn’t any exception. Particularly with regards to quarterbacks. Take these two current examples: The Minnesota Vikings informed us they desired Kirk Cousins‘ return. And the Pittsburgh Steelers informed us they had been dedicated to seeing extra from Kenny Pickett. However as soon as the 2024 offseason actually obtained underway, the Vikings let Cousins money in elsewhere, and Pittsburgh despatched Pickett packing in favor of not one however two perceived upgrades.
Now it is the Dallas Cowboys‘ flip. Simply weeks in the past, ninth-year veteran Dak Prescott all however assured he’d land a brand new long-term deal forward of the 2024 season: “It will occur,” he informed reporters, saying “each side perceive” the significance of an extension. Apparently not. Whereas there’s a variety of time between now and September, NFL Media reported Tuesday that Prescott and the Cowboys are in actual fact on the identical web page — besides with the understanding the quarterback is on observe to play out his present contract in 2024.
What does this imply? For now, nothing. Prescott is locked up via 2024, and his present deal features a no-trade clause. However hardly ever are confirmed longtime beginning quarterbacks allowed to enter a contract yr; Cousins did it with Minnesota in 2023, and it is no coincidence he now wears completely different colours. With a no-tag clause additionally embedded in his present contract, Prescott is kind of actually headed for 2025 free company, with no extension provides on the desk from Dallas, per NFL Media, and no indicators of any coming within the close to future.
The Cowboys, at the least in the meanwhile, seem content material to let Prescott do as coach Mike McCarthy (and predecessor Jason Garrett) have so usually been pressured to do below proprietor Jerry Jones: carry out below the menace and/or actuality of dwindling job safety. A lot can occur throughout a calendar yr within the NFL. Coaches can change. Contract talks can reignite. Contenders can emerge and vanish. However in mild of this newest improvement, it might be silly to low cost the potential for Prescott following in Cousins’ footsteps and turning into the following big-name signal-caller to discover the open market come 2025.
If that is the case, maintaining in thoughts that numerous circumstances can change between every now and then, here is a way-too-early breakdown of some potential Dak Prescott suitors, if the Professional Bowl quarterback shakes freed from Dallas:
The Cardinals are publicly and financially dedicated to Kyler Murray, who’s nonetheless simply 26. However there stay actual questions right here: Murray has missed a number of video games as a result of harm in three straight seasons, and even when wholesome, he is struggled to make substantial leaps as a passer. What if his 2024 goes sideways? Will common supervisor Monti Ossenfort, who loved the veteran revival of Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee, stand pat? With greater than $100 million in projected 2025 wage cap house, he might afford to make a tough determination on Murray if wanted, and/or outbid different golf equipment for a free agent of Prescott’s caliber.
They’d little question favor to safe a future face of the franchise within the 2024 NFL Draft, however choosing No. 12 general means a commerce up for a high prospect might be essential, as coach Sean Payton not too long ago admitted. What if that does not occur? Payton’s observe document suggests he is extra snug with a ready-made veteran, a la Drew Brees in New Orleans, and Prescott’s obtained the sort of pocket-managing resume that would entice the top of operations, particularly if Denver goes into Yr 3 of the Payton period with no outlined reply below middle. The membership is projected to have greater than $90 million in 2025 cap house.
Seattle clearly went for brand new backup Sam Howell due to his long-term upside, figuring out incumbent No. 1 Geno Smith could or could not stick round for the lengthy haul. GM John Schneider additionally is not essentially primed to land a high prospect within the draft choosing No. 16 general. However with neither Smith nor Howell a certain factor past 2024, odds are Seattle shall be exploring the quarterback market once more subsequent offseason. If new coach Mike Macdonald has the protection again on observe, a team-up with Prescott might be interesting to each side, particularly if weapons like DK Metcalf are nonetheless at high velocity.
Matthew Stafford re-entrenched himself as a worthy starter with a resurgent 2023, however he’ll be 37 after the 2024 season, and he already admitted he is contemplated retirement amid an injury-riddled stage of his profession. It is also a bit of exhausting to check coach Sean McVay, one other win-now chief with an admitted eye on retirement, eager to completely rebuild the place within the occasion Stafford walks; therefore his current in-season reclamation tasks in Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz. Los Angeles is primed to nonetheless have younger talent weapons in 2025, and an opportunity to be McVay’s level guard might actually intrigue Prescott.
No NFL crew refuses to rebuild fairly just like the cap-manipulating Saints, and there is stress on present quarterback Derek Carr to dwell as much as his $150 million deal — a contract New Orleans can dump with the intention to save wherever from $11 million to $40 million after the 2024 marketing campaign. If Carr would not keep put, the Saints do not precisely have a built-in successor, and whatever the teaching employees’s destiny, Prescott might make sense as a confirmed substitute. The perfect half: This may characterize a homecoming for Prescott, who was born and raised within the state of Louisiana, and may additionally favor the NFC South’s path to the playoffs.