The Dallas Cowboys have spent a lot of money this offseason locking in some of their younger talent long-term. Cornerback Trevon Diggs agreed to a five-year, $97 million contract. Safety Malik Hooker agreed to a three-year deal that is worth up to $24 million.
Offensive guard Zack Martin re-worked his contract after a holdout, receiving $36 million in guarantees over the next two years. Most recently, it was offensive tackle Terence Steele who cashed in. He agreed to a five-year, $86.6 million extension with a max value of $91.8 million.
If Jerry Jones and the Cowboys have their way, more extensions will be handed out. Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had the fifth-year option on his rookie contract exercised, but discussions have been held about making him one of the highest-paid pass catchers in the NFL.
Along with Lamb, the Cowboys would like to work out a deal with quarterback Dak Prescott. With a cap number of $59.4 million in 2024, working out a new deal would behoove Dallas. Heading into his eighth season as the starting quarterback, Prescott is someone that Jones hopes to have on the team for a very long time.
“Those types of numbers, especially the big ones, you live with constantly. That’s always on your mind,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Tuesday. “There’s never a time where it goes away because you’ve got to make the entire thing fit. And so, it’s on the mind on a player decision in the middle of the year. It’s just a fundamental. We expect Dak to be with us a long time. And, yeah, we’ll always [be] working around it with several machinations of numbers that would work.” (H/T ESPN)
Some people believe that 2023 could be Prescott’s last with the Cowboys. Another early playoff exit, as the franchise hasn’t played in an NFC Championship Game since the mid-90s, could lead to a change being made.
Despite Jones wanting to work out an extension with Prescott, there have been some whispers about whether or not be would be the long-term answer under center. Those whispers got louder after the Cowboys acquired quarterback Trey Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, in a trade with the San Francisco 49ers.
Unlike some situations around the league, such as wide receiver Mike Evans with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, there is no known deadline for the Cowboys to get extensions done. As a result, Jones has revealed he isn’t worried about negotiations continuing in the regular season.
“And it may be a better time for them to get to the point where they can make a decision,” Jones said. “We all, I know I do, have times that I get up and I feel like locking something down that may be a loose end. If I get a chance to, well, I’ll do it. That should sound flexible because it is. It’s a moving part. Of course, the real-life situation that we deal with is injury, and we deal with appreciating and depreciating talent levels. It goes up and down. And it happens there right before your eyes. It can happen during a season, so how you start a season off is not how you end up a season with a short-term and long-term look either.”
The situation with Prescott is one to keep an eye on. He could very well be playing for his future spot on the Cowboys in the coming weeks. Prescott has proven he is good enough to help the team win games, but the jury is out on whether he can elevate the team to championship levels.
