Trade Trey Lance? How Dak & Russell Wilson Contracts Could Mean Cowboys Deal with Denver

Trade Trey Lance? How Dak Prescott & Russell Wilson Contracts Could Mean Dallas Cowboys Deal with Denver Broncos

The Dallas Cowboys made a trade last summer to add depth to the quarterback position, flipping a 2024 fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for former third-overall pick Trey Lance.

The move allowed them to retain some potency in the event of an injury to quarterback Dak Prescott. If he looked good in any way, his value in a future trade would likely net more than an early Day 3 pick. Or, Dallas could choose to try to retain him long-term as he develops here, which one team source has told CowboysSI.com is indeed a serious consideration.

What the Trey Trade did not do was give them some kind of leverage against Prescott in an impending extension negotiation.

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That sentiment was silly back in August, and in the months since, Prescott has proven to be far more difficult to replace than his detractors imagined.

He played himself into MVP contention, and while the Cowboys’ recent losing streak (and likely second-place fate) may have slowed those hopes, Prescott made himself a lot of money.

Prescott signed a four-year, $160 million extension with Dallas in 2021. But as top quarterbacks do, he’s well within his right to seek another extension and make himself the league’s highest-paid passer – at least until the next one gets paid.

An extension would also alleviate the approximately $59.5 million cap hit on the books for next season.

We've written about Dak as a $60 million APY player - which would make him the highest-paid player in NFL history. Spotrac took a shot at predicting the quarterback landscape for next season and sees the Cowboys going down this path. The prediction, extending Prescott to a four-year, $240 million contract (with an NFL record $75 million signing bonus), makes a good amount of sense.

Meanwhile, the prediction also has Dallas trading Lance to the Denver Broncos for a late-round pick swap, ending his tenure as the third-string quarterback and ensuring the Cowboys don’t get a positive return on investment for that particular trade.

We don't see that "late-round swap'' part of the idea happening. But ... 

Denver benched starting quarterback Russell Wilson, now infamously, amidst mediocre play and contract concerns. The writing is on the wall that he’ll be on his way out in the Mile High City, opening the door for the idea of a Broncos trade for Lance.

Cowboys To Make Dak Highest-Paid Ever? No Surprise - And A No-Brainer

There are pieces that fit here. Does Broncos boss Sean Payton like Lance, who is scheduled to make just $5 million next season in the final year of his rookie deal? Can Dallas turn the fourth-round investment into something a little better? Or can Lance be convinced to stay with the Cowboys under the terms of an affordable deal to serve as Dak's long-time caddie?

Dallas, which will host the Detroit Lions on Saturday, will be locked in contractually with Dak on a new deal by March, the start of the NFL business year. That'll be the Cowboys' big QB story. But how to make Trey Lance work in the most optimal way? That will be a compelling QB story as well.