Scout Advises Dallas Cowboys on Dak Prescott Cut, Trade or Sign: 'Pay the Man!'

Scout Advises Dallas Cowboys on Dak Prescott Cut, Trade or Sign: 'Pay the Man!'

ARLINGTON - The Dallas Cowboys' plan to forge a contract extension with valued quarterback Dak Prescott has not changed. But the plan certainly has been delayed.

Are we on the horizon of a newly-crafted future with Prescott in charge in Dallas?

We'll offer here three views, one from inside the front office at The Star, the next from a former Cowboys star maybe in the heat of emotion, and finally from a former NFL scout who after watching film ultimately comes to a cliched conclusion ...

"My advice to the Cowboys,'' he writes. "Pay the man.'' And ah, if only it was just that simple ... 

FROM THE FRONT OFFICE: There is a bloated $59.4 million cap hit due in 2024; the Cowboys have always viewed that number as one that would be massaged when the time is right, in part in order to create the room to do other roster business - something made close to impossible if the contract is allowed to play to its end, through the 2024 season.

What's the delay? There is some understandable speculation that has the Jones family wanting to wait to see how the season plays out. But eventually - and ideally before the start of the NFL business year in March 2024 - comes an extension that is partly about "rewarding Dak'' but more about making the cap manageable.

That ultimate plan remains in place, and really shouldn't ebb and flow depending on Prescott's week-to-week play. Presently, he's a centerpiece of the 5-3 Cowboys and right now ranks third in NFL completion percentage (70.2 percent), seventh in passer rating (100.7), ninth in touchdowns (13) and 13th in passing yards (2,011).

But he shouldn't be paid because he's "hot'' or because he's "not''; after eight seasons here, and at age 30, the Cowboys should be able to evaluate without emotion. And they insist they have.

"Once the season is over,'' Cowboys COO Stephen Jones recently said, "we will focus on that. Dak will be our quarterback."

And a contract extension is good business ... even as sometimes it feels like Prescott might not be "worth it.''

FROM THE EMOTIONAL SIDE: It was after the embarrassing loss at San Francisco when Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith was asked about the concept of extending Dak.

"At this point, I probably wouldn't," the Hall of Famer and all-time leading NFL rusher Smith said. "I think there are other positions on the football field that we need to have."

We haven't asked Emmitt if the last three weeks have altered his thinking. But we know that if we pointed out the dollars and sense here, he might reconsider.

The cap charge if they keep Dak without a new deal is $59.455 million. The cap charge if they cut him or trade him before June 1 is $61.915 million. And no matter how many times ProFootballTalk.com writes about the idea of trading Dak - and it seems they write it a lot - Prescott has a no-trade clause.

Key to Emmitt's thinking in that interview, we think: His framework: "At this point,'' he said.

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But again, the Cowboys don't have the benefit of flip-flopping depending on different "points'' of the season. Nor is there much benefit to "paying the cap'' $60 million with no quarterback to show for it.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones long ago offered us a piece of business advice that resonates here: "Don't let your money get mad.'' Emmitt was "mad'' when he said this; the Cowboys can't afford to be ruled by such emotion.

FROM THE SCOUT: Daniel Kelly, writing for Yardbarker, worked as a New York Jets scout for four years. He cites Dak's strengths - in this "Texas Coast Offense,'' Dak has the eighth-quickest release in the league 2.66 seconds, "doesn't flinch under pressure'' and for all of the criticism of the 5-3 Cowboys' offense, it is a top-10 unit in the NFL. (And likely rising, with the Giants, Panthers and Commanders the next three teams on the schedule.)

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Replacing Prescott with a known quantity in the league or someone in the draft would be a huge roll of the dice. Besides, Dallas isn't going to be in a position to draft one of the top quarterbacks in a draft replete with them.