Dallas Cowboys: If Dak Prescott holds out, blame Jerry and Stephen

If an agreement isn’t reached, the Dallas Cowboys will franchise tag Dak Prescott, but the question is will Dak sign the franchise tag?

As always, the Dallas Cowboys have more drama than a CW teen series. In fact, I’m waiting for the owner/general manager of the Cowboys to strike a deal with the network to make the Cowboys their next great reality show.

Let’s be honest here, ole Jerry Jones has been a walking billboard for a reality show since he bought the Cowboys back in February of 1989. The main reason the Cowboys are the number one sports franchise in the entire world is because ole Jerry knows how to take any publicity and turn it into dollar signs for America’s Team.

That’s why the Cowboys have the highest rated games in the NFL.

And expect the ratings to continue to go sky high as Jerry milks the latest saga with quarterback Dak Prescott and his pending contract negotiations. The Cowboys are willing to use the franchise tag on Dak if they can’t reach a long-term deal.

And since a long-term deal is unlikely, don’t be surprised if Dak holds out for a more lucrative contract. Yep, Dak has hinted that he’ll hold out or at least pretend to hold out if his contract demands aren’t met.

Sure franchise tag him, and he might sign it. But guess what Jerry and Stephen, Dak is only going to get better and his asking price is only going to go up!

During Super Bowl weekend in Miami, Dak was asked if he plans to spend his offseason in Dallas, and Dak responded with a resounding no, be sure to report that. And if Dak does hold out, all you can do is blame Jerry and his son Stephen Jones for this debacle.

And they deserve all of the blame.

I know some of you in Cowboys Nation don’t believe Dak should be paid like a top-5 QB, but the former fourth rounder out of Mississippi State deserves to be paid handsomely because quite frankly, he’s been the most consistent player on the team. And he’s EARNED IT (Yes, Zeke has been consistent, too).

See, Jerry and Stephen missed out on a golden opportunity to lock up Dak long before he posted 4,902 yards, 30 touchdowns and a total QBR (quarterback rating) of 72.9.

Dak ranked third in total QBR behind league MVP Lamar Jackson, Super Bowl winning quarterback/MVP Patrick Mahomes, and in front of another Super Bowl winning signal caller in Russell Wilson,who ranked fourth.

Dak finished the 2019 season in elite company with some of the best young quarterbacks in the league, and for the foreseeable future.

After taking over for the injured Tony Romo, Dak led Dallas to a 13-3 record, an NFC East crown, and a first round bye. It was clear that Dak was going to be a good quarterback, and Dallas lucked out and found their successor to Romo.

Since 2016, all Dak has done is win football games. In that span, including the playoffs, Dak has won a total of 44 games-only future Hall of Famer Tom Brady has won more games in that span. And the Seattle Seahawks’ Wilson is third with 42 wins. Once again, Dak is with elite company.

Jerry and Stephen could have/should have signed Dak to an extension at the end of his third season. And even though Dak’s sophomore season wasn’t as good as his rookie campaign, Dak showed enough promise to prove he was a franchise quarterback.

Listen, every quarterback goes through growing pains. Dak has had his share of growing pains and learned from it.

Basically, if the Joneses had signed Dak earlier in his career, they could have signed him at a cheaper price rather than the reportedly $35 million Dallas wants to offer him or the rumored $40 million asking price Dak is seeking. For whatever reason, the Joneses slept on Dak’s potential and its coming back to haunt them like Michael Myers haunts his sister Laurie Strode.

To put this in perspective, Dak was winning games with a mediocre wide receiving corps in his first two seasons. Former All Pro Dez Bryant was a shell of himself and injury prone, Terrance Williams was nonexistent, Jason Witten was just a safety valve, and Cole Beasley was Dallas’ most dependable receiver playing in the slot.

One reason for Dak’s sophomore slump is that Dez and Williams either dropped catchable passes, fumbled at crucial times or had passes ricochet off of their hands and into interceptions.

In 2017, Dez had his worse season as a pro and had declined as a receiver. It’s the main reason Dallas didn’t make the playoffs (combined with Ezekiel Elliott six-game suspension) and why they drafted Michael Gallup and later traded for Amari Cooper. Dallas needed receivers.