We’ve reached Week 10 of the season, which means it’s time to start seriously talking about the next wave of potential franchise quarterbacks.
Among them are Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields, and with a number of QB-needy teams near the bottom of the standings, signal-caller talk is heating up. Just leave Dallas out of the mix, though.
“Yes, it’s crazy to bring the idea up and I’m answering yes,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said when asked during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan if it was crazy to consider a quarterback with a presumably high first-round pick for Dallas. “We’re playing games here, guys, but it’s not the thing to be talking about at all. Dak Prescott is our quarterback.”
Dallas couldn’t come to terms with Prescott on a long-term deal ahead of the 2020 season, leaving the quarterback to play under the franchise tag. His season-ending ankle injury brought to light the risk associated with playing under the lucrative but short-term tag, and we’ll learn in the offseason how such an outcome might affect the money he’s able to command with a long-term deal.
What the Cowboys have learned in the time since they lost Prescott, though, is how valuable he is to the franchise’s success. In recent weeks, Dallas has turned to Andy Dalton, seen him knocked out of action with a concussion and time spent on the reserve/COVID-19 list, been forced to turn to Ben DiNucci in an unsuccessful outing against Philadelphia, and eventually handed the keys to Garrett Gilbert for a week.
Dalton is the Cowboys’ starter if available, a point Jones reinforced during the same radio appearance Tuesday. But when planning beyond 2020, Dallas is firm in its commitment to Prescott, no matter who is available in the spring’s draft.
They still have to hash out the numbers, but don’t pencil in a promising young arm wherever Dallas ends up drafting. This remains Prescott’s team.
