Dallas Cowboys: 3 Unsavory Alternatives to Dak Prescott at QB
By Dink Kearney
As of today, the Dallas Cowboys sit at an impasse with their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott. For reasons completely unknown to mankind, Jerry and Stephen Jones have been unable to sign Dak to a long-term contract for the past two seasons. It’s not illogical to think they may never be able to.
Despite Dak proving he’s, at the very least, a top-10 franchise quarterback, the Cowboys were too stubborn to give in to Dak’s demands last year of a four-year contract worth $110 million. Instead, the Dallas Cowboys wanted a five-year deal with the same amount of annual money. That was basically what they were unwilling to budge on. Are you kidding me?
A one-year difference! Come on man! You can fix the length later!
With that being said, the Dallas Cowboys are prepared to franchise Dak Prescott once again if the two sides can’t come to an agreement on a long-term deal. But here’s the catch, franchising Dak for $37.7 million will hurt the Cowboys because it eats up most their salary cap in 2021. That means they couldn’t be active in free agency.
If the Dallas Cowboys move on from Dak Prescott these are their options available
That’s why Jerry and Stephen say they need to sign Dak to a longer-term deal – to spread out the guaranteed money. Never mind the fact they’ve never spent the money before when Dak was making peanuts…see also: “The Cowboys won’t spend the money anyway.”...but I digress…
I’m not advocating for a trade in this article, but just being realistic about the Joneses and their history of blunders
If the Dallas Cowboys decide they can’t get a deal done with Dak and want to trade him away, there are three franchise quarterbacks that the Cowboys could trade for. Keep in mind, Dak has to agree to a trade since they can’t move Dak until he signs his tag (and Dak has no reason to sign the tag until the last minute).
Important Note: Now before I discuss these quarterbacks, I want to be clear that I’m a Dak Prescott fan, and the Joneses should absolutely sign Dak to a four-year contract and do what’s best for this franchise. Therefore, I’m not advocating for a trade, but just being realistic about the Joneses and their decision making.
Those three quarterbacks are Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford, and Aaron Rodgers (the Grinch from Green Bay). Watson and Stafford have made it abundantly clear that they want out, and Rodgers speculated to some degree that he his situation is unknown after the heartbreaking loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship game.
Choice No. 1: Deshaun Watson
Not only does Watson wear the same number as Dak, but Watson is almost a mirror image of Dak because he’s young, athletic, a winner, a leader on and off the field, and is just as clutch. In fact, Watson is so eerily similar to Dak that it’s scary (I’m biased but I give Dak the slight edge).
Last season, Watson passed for 33 touchdowns, seven interceptions, completed a whopping 70.2 percent of his passes, went 4-12, and accomplished all of that with no name receivers. My goodness! Just imagine what Watson would do with the receiving corps of Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Cedrick Wilson, Dalton Schultz, and Blake Jarwin.
Dallas could easily swap Dak for Watson, give up their first round pick in 2021 and 2022. Or Dallas can use any other draft capital to secure Watson’s services. Further, Dallas definitely can receive some draft compensation from Houston Texans as well because Dak is a franchise signal caller, too.
Because both quarterbacks are equal in value, neither team would have to give up much in return. The Texans would rather receive a proven franchise quarterback than drafting an unknown one Zach Wilson.