Dallas Cowboys: Why Dak’s Contract Extension Should Wait A Year

While many believe the Dallas Cowboys should re-sign Dak Prescott and re-sign him quickly, I make the case they should wait and make him play out his deal.

The topic of extending Dak Prescott has been a hot topic on every sports news network and for any Cowboys writer. Most have been discussing what the cost may be, some have been pushing for the Cowboys to sign him now to avoid spending extra next year when bigger names get signed to an exorbitant amount of money.

I’m here to say the Cowboys need to wait another season. In the Garrett Era, Cowboys fans have wished for consistency with the team but that almost never seems to happen from a year to year basis especially in the last 5 seasons.

Following a magical 2014 season, 2015 saw the starting quarterback get hit with the same injury twice and more turnover on the roster than the team originally anticipated. Even with the injury to the starting quarterback, 2016 saw the rise of Dak Prescott. He helped take a really good team to the playoffs where the Cowboys lost to Green Bay, again… (Curse you Aaron Rodgers!)

Then 2017 was a catastrophe. Zeke got suspended, Tyron Smith got injured, Dez started dropping passes, and in general the team started to look like a mess as the season finished. Then came the 2018 season which was uplifting for the Cowboys and their fans.

But, after how the Cowboys season ended, should fans be optimistic for 2019? The Cowboys aren’t supposed to be losing important players in Free Agency assuming DeMarcus Lawrence re-signs. This team has fewer holes than in previous years and they’ve finally made a long overdue change at offensive coordinator.

Dak has started every game the last 3 seasons. He was there for the bad parts and the good parts of the Cowboys team. Due to crucial players missing closer to the end of the 2017 season, people like to believe that wasn’t the real Dak playing. But what if it does?

Below is a tweet by Marcus Mosher on Dak’s statistical breakdown by certain games. This outlines the three versions of Dak: the rookie sensation, the confidence lacking player, and the post-Amari trade version.

People like to believe the “real Dak” is the post-Amari trade version because his stats in plenty of categories are noticeably better than the confidence lacking version. However, all three versions of Dak on this chart resemble the true Dak.

The general narrative around Dak, in the most simple description, is that he is a “bus driver that is clutch.” Dak doesn’t necessarily wow you with his arm talent or mobility, but he throws, he runs, he scores, he wins, and along the way he’ll throw in some pizzazz with an impressive play.

With every quarterback comes concerns. Dak’s footwork can be a mess, his pocket presence needs some work, his mechanics require more momentum from his body than his arms this in turn ruining his release at times. He has more errant throws than some other quarterbacks.

However, the biggest concern for Dak is that he can’t play well without talent around him. Compared to other concerns or flaws, this one is the most important, because it’s true and it’s not fixable like footwork or mechanics. All three columns prove that he needs legitimate help to be successful.

But, there aren’t many quarterbacks who can take a team without much talent to the playoffs. That list would probably contain: Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and maybe Drew Brees. (Tony Romo could be on this list because he helped a LOT of receivers get big paychecks that they ultimately didn’t deserve) Essentially, the list of quarterbacks who make talent look better than they are is really small.

The Cowboys just traded for Amari Cooper, drafted Michael Gallup and Dalton Schultz, and the arrival of Blake Jarwin were instrumental in Dak’s progression as a passer and the overall team’s success. Not to mention, Zeke was this year’s leading rusher in 15 games. The Cowboys currently have a lot of talent around them, but, all this talent is fairly new. This is also considering the Cowboys offensive line wasn’t as bad as described.

When teams would shut down the running game, Dak would be forced to throw the ball. Teams wanted to see Dak beat them. When the Dallas running game was held to fewer than 100 yards this season, the Cowboys were 3-5. Those 3 wins coming against the woeful New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and New Orleans Saints.

Similar to what happened in 2017, teams will learn to game plan against them. In past years, the Cowboys have not been able to overcome this ultimately resulting in an overall decrease in productivity. If the same were to happen in 2019, the Cowboys could have a predicament at the HC and QB position. If a new coaching staff were to come into town, would they feel inclined to play a quarterback who can’t maintain some consistency?

If the Cowboys were to lock Dak to an extension now, they are expecting Dak to improve on his play from this year. This wouldn’t be a bad idea if Dak had gotten better every year since he’s been in the league. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Along with the numerous trends that have developed during the Jason Garrett era, the Cowboys would be wise to see how well Dak plays next year.

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Trends aside, the Cowboys could be overvaluing Dak simply because he is a quarterback. It’s known he doesn’t make any player better, but, unlike the Top 5 highest paid QBs in the league, Dak has gone to the playoffs 2 of the last 3 years. In the event the Cowboys gave Dak $25 million/yr, how much could they allocate to assets to help him be as successful?

Currently Dak is on a high, but his and the Cowboys lack of consistency from a year to year basis could lower the price tag on Dak assuming he has a worse year next year. If the Cowboys wait another year, they may have more leverage come negotiation time and would be able to get Dak at a price that makes more people happy without having to sacrifice too many assets. If Dak under performs to his extension, the Cowboys certainly wouldn’t be happy with their franchise quarterback.

If Dak has an outstanding season next year contrary to what I believe will happen, then Dak would have more than proven he is deserving of a big payday.

• Published on 02/13/2019 at 23:01 PM
• Last updated at 02/14/2019 at 08:59 AM