Cowboys news: Dak Prescott answers questions about a potential new contract

The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys.

Cowboys’ Dak Prescott on contract talks: ‘I don’t play for money’ – Todd Archer, ESPN

Dak Prescott got questions and gave answers about contract talks.

Many have wondered why the Dallas Cowboys have waited to sign Dak Prescott to a contract extension, but the quarterback has displayed a level of patience as well.

“I don’t play for money. Never have never cared for it, to be honest with you, yeah,” Prescott said after the Cowboys’ OTAs on Wednesday. “Would give it up just to play this game. So, I allow that to the business people to say what it’s worth, what they’re supposed to give a quarterback of my play, a person of my play, a leader of my play. For me, it’s about, as I said, control what I can control and handle that part and the rest will take care of itself.”

[…]

How much is a contract a matter of respect?

“I think it depends on personal relationships and position and how much that pay can affect others, understanding where I am, what my pay means to a team and to an organization,” Prescott said. “I don’t really take things personal. Maybe in my first deal, maybe things were a little different than they are now. One, it’s my age and who I am, where I am in my life, and I guess the fact that that first deal got done. The understanding that I have a lot of decision in this, too. I have a lot of say-so, too.”

As his contract status swirls, Prescott has not missed an offseason workout.

“Right now, it’s about being my best for this team right now in this moment. OTAs is helping these guys out, and just focused on that, and I know my business will take care of itself,” he said. “Been in it before, experienced and just controlling what I can right now.”

10 Observations from Wednesday’s OTA Practice – DallasCowboys.com

Offseason practices are in full swing, here are some things that have been reported.

Ezekiel Elliott is being viewed as the leader of the RBs room, but it is already beginning to look like a committee approach as he and Rico Dowdle split nearly all of the first-team reps on Wednesday. – Walker

Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe will need to earn their way into starting roles in 2024, beginning their journey taking second-team reps while Chuma Edoga (left tackle) and Brock Hoffman (center) took the starting role to open OTAs. – Walker

The battle for WR3 is off to the races, literally, as Jalen Tolbert and Jalen Brooks were both targeted by Dak Prescott in first-team duties during full team drills, but KaVontae Turpin was not to be denied — targeted heavily in 7-on-7 drills and catching at least one deep fade in full team drills from Prescott. – Walker

Trey Lance had several well-placed throws in full team reps to open practice — including in traffic over the middle that only undrafted wide receiver Corey Crooms (5’11”) was in position to elevate and grab (it was completed), as Lance looks far more comfortable in his process now. – Walker

Looking at some of the defensive rookies, Marshawn Kneeland won several reps against the Cowboys’ starting offensive line while Marist Liufau spent most of his practice time rotating between the first and second team; as cornerback Caelen Carson was assigned to the boundary for all of his reps (and not the nickel). – Walker

Lance experiment saved Cowboys pricey investment behind Prescott – Reid Hanson, USA Today

The Trey Lance deal is still kind of an unknown.

All forms of investment come from finite resources and therefore go hand in hand with opportunity costs. The higher the dollar figure, the greater the opportunity cost. The longer the development time, the greater the opportunity cost. The higher the draft pick, the greater the opportunity cost. When the Cowboys acquired Trey Lance via trade last season, some costs were deftly dodged, but others proved unavoidable.

When the Cowboys sent a fourth-round pick to San Francisco last August to acquire the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, they received generally positive feedback. Despite the disappointing start to his professional career, the compensation was a small price to pay for a former top draft pick. Very few Cowboys fans saw Lance as even a remote threat to Dak Prescott, yet a Day 3 draft pick seemed like a fair price to pay for what could be seen as the NFL version of a lottery ticket.

The sentiment changed when the 2024 draft neared. At a time when draft picks are treated like gold, Lance seemed like a huge overpay for a guy who would probably spend the 2024 season on the bench and the 2025 season in a different uniform. Roughly a month later the resentment has waned, and a few positives can again be gleaned from the trade that brought Lance to Dallas.

Time and energy

There’s a good chance the Cowboys are going to re-sign Prescott this summer and lock in their franchise quarterback for years to come. But there’s also the chance no common ground can be found, and Dallas is forced to start over at the QB position next spring.

By acquiring Lance in advance, the Cowboys have given themselves two seasons to assess and develop an option for life after Prescott. Since his development runs concurrently to Prescott’s time at the helm, they can theoretically hit the ground running if Prescott leaves in 2025.

Brandin Cooks says Dak Prescott should ‘indubitably’ be long-term quarterback for Dallas Cowboys – RJ Ochoa, BloggingTheBoys.com

QB1 receives unwavering support from his WR room.

The theme of the offseason for the Dallas Cowboys has mostly been the lack of activity. Obviously the headline for that has been the absence of moves in free agency. Per usual form, the Cowboys chose not to dabble much in the external free agent pool and work on their ‘re-sign tan’ on the lawn chairs instead.

As true as this is, it would have been great to see the Cowboys also hang out in the extension hot tub given that we are approaching the final week of May and Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons remain without new deals. There is still sand in each of their respective hourglasses, but certainly much less than when the offseason began.

It seems that anywhere you turn there are words of encouragement for each one of these players in their quest to get paid. The code and creed among players should be to stick together after all.

On Tuesday morning, wide receiver Brandin Cooks appeared on GoJo and Golic and he was asked about Dak Prescott’s situation specifically, and whether or not Dak should be the long-term quarterback of the team.

“Indubitably. Absolutely. No question. I think… last year what he did, the first year of Mike McCarthy’s offense. For the longest he was MVP frontrunner and then what I believe he finished second or third. And that was all done one year into Mike McCarthy’s offense. I think all he’s going to do is continue to get better, continue to lead and hit his stride. If you don’t do it now, in my opinion, it’s just going to cost that much later because he’s on a mission for sure.”

Obviously Cooks is going to support his teammate, but the part at the end is what we have tried to stress over the last months and in years past with regards to the extension Prescott signed with the team in 2021. If you don’t do it now… it’s just going to cost that much later.

Dallas Cowboys position group grades: Defense entering 2024 OTAs – Koby Skillern, Sports Illustrated

Here’s are position-by-position grades for Dallas’ defense prior to OTAs.

Interior Defensive Line

Despite the interior defensive line proving to be a real weakness in the Cowboys’ early playoff exit, the team made very few changes to its defensive line.

The Cowboys hope that their draft picks, Osa Odighizuwa and Mazi Smith, will continue to improve and be the difference moving forward.

Behind Odighizuwa and Smith, Dallas has Chauncey Golston, seventh-rounder Justin Rogers, UDFA Denzel Daxon, and Carl Davis Jr. as rotational pieces.

Grade: C

Edge Rushers

The Cowboys’ edge rushers form the most talented position group on the team. Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence are one of the best pass-rushing tandems in the NFL, often striking fear in their opponents.

Fans should not worry about the losses of Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler because Sam Williams and rookie Marshawn Kneeland are more than capable as rotational pass rushers.

Grade: A