Dak Prescott’s bold mega-deal demand, the Giants’ changes and Derek Carr’s ‘big games’
By Michael Lombardi Aug 15, 2019
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott wants a new deal. Not
any new deal: He wants a blockbuster deal, a mega deal, a deal to break all other quarterback deals, a once-in-a-lifetime deal. According to Jane Slater of NFL Network, Prescott and his agents are looking for a contract that pays an average of $40 million per year.
Look, I like Prescott as a person and player. However, he reminds me of one of my favorite lines when evaluating talent, which comes from former Manchester United coach Sir Alex Ferguson: Some players have world-class moments, some have world-class careers. For the record, I’m not sure Prescott has displayed a world-class moment during his time in the NFL, let alone a world-class career.
Contract negotiations are always a challenge. Often, the player or his representative has an entirely different view than the organization that is offering him a new contract when it comes to that player’s impact on winning or his overall performance. There is a disconnect concerning “how much,” not in terms of money but in terms of impact. Agents love players who can make an impact — it’s the best way to get to the top of the market. Defining how much one player can do that is often hard for clubs. Plus, agents also include a creative negotiating belief centered around the unknown: "“If they don’t sign Prescott, the Cowboys are screwed because they don’t have anyone else who could play.”" It’s a fascinating belief considering the Cowboys found Prescott in the fourth round and may be able to find another just as good.
There comes the point in every negotiation that doing a deal is far worse than not doing one. If Prescott wants $40 million a year, then ignore him and start preparing for life without him. The No. 1 requirement to successfully running any business or sports franchise is being able to say the word no. That word is a lifesaver. Uttering the word no means no one player can hold an organization hostage and no one player can dictate terms. Saying no in the NBA is hard. Saying no in the NFL? Not so much. There are maybe five to 10 players in the NFL who are not replaceable, and those players are impossible to say the word no to. Successful teams must be able to demonstrate restraint, discipline and a total belief that they can find a player similar to the talents of the one they are not allowing to dictate terms.
We are now in an era of sports where the contract value next to the player’s name is more important than any of his game stats. Prescott, as a fourth-round pick, was an incredible bargain for four years. The Cowboys had an opportunity to build their team and cap around a cheap rookie deal and never were able to take advantage of the benefits of having a starting quarterback for discount prices. Now, with no discounts, they must fit all their good players into their cap. Prescott has good numbers: He is 33-18 as a starter and 15-10 on the road, including the playoffs, and demonstrates the ability to execute on third down.
For all those who claim Prescott’s numbers are the same as Eagles starter Carson Wentz, they are not watching the same tape I’m viewing. Wentz was the MVP in 2017 before a knee injury cost him the rest of the season. He almost carried the Eagles to the playoffs and backup quarterback Nick Foles completed the job. Wentz impacts the game. Wentz has had world-class moments. Prescott has not.
With Cooper Rush and Mike White as the backups for the Cowboys, it’s clear replacing Prescott is not in the cards. Neither is paying him $40 million, which means their options are simple. Let him play it out this year, draft his replacement in the spring and give him the franchise tag for one more year — or until he starts being reasonable. Trying to force-fit a contract now won’t be suitable for the short or long term. The best thing the Cowboys can do is wait.
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NFL notes
• Giants co-owner John Mara said offseason changes were necessary because the team wasn’t winning with those players, according to Tom Rock of
Newsday.
“You don’t like to see all of that talent go out the door,” Mara said of the departures of Odell Beckham Jr., Landon Collins and Olivier Vernon. “But let’s face it, we’ve had one winning season, 2016, here and the other five or six years have not been so good since we won that last Super Bowl. So we needed some drastic changes.”
I agree on the Giants needing changes, but how does Mara not see those changes must start with quarterback Eli Manning? The Giants are 2-13 combined in September and October over the last two seasons. No team with a so-called “franchise quarterback” has only two wins in the first two months in the last two years. The Giants need more changes.
Daniel Jones, their first-round pick, looked excellent in his first live action of the season. He showed good touch, timing and accuracy. He needs to play a ton in the next three weeks and be given a “real” chance to become the starter.
• The Eagles look like a complete football team after week one of the preseason. They have depth in the offensive line and players who are hard to block one-on-one on the defensive line. Rookie second-round pick Miles Sanders out of Penn State will be a big-time contributor early.
• Without a doubt, the Browns are better, but they have zero depth on the offensive line, and if they lose any one of their starters, it might be ugly. Greg Robinson, the former high draft pick of the Rams, was a pleasant surprise last year at left tackle. I am not sure he can duplicate that season, and I have my doubts with Chris Hubbard at right tackle. The Browns will only go as far as their offensive line takes them.
• Every mock draft has a ton of wide receivers in the early rounds, and when the games start in the summer, it’s free-agent wide receivers who jump out with their play. Preston Williams of the Dolphins and Jakobi Meyers of the Patriots look like the real deal. They are both big and physical with excellent hands, and even though they don’t have top speed, they have enough quickness to win and separate from defenders. The receiver position is often the poorest evaluated at draft time.
• On “Hard Knocks,” we learned all about Antonio Brown’s foot problem and the helmet controversy that almost derailed his career. There was not much going on in the latest episode, other than Derek Carr claiming he has played in big games and no practice could ever make him nervous. Seriously, in what big game has Carr ever played? The Las Vegas Bowl against USC when he was at Fresno State? Carr is 32-46 as a starter and 10-13 in games played after Dec. 1. Unless I missed a playoff game, or a near playoff game, I am waiting for Carr’s first big game — even after head coach Jon Gruden announced with high voice inflection the Rams are coming. As
I wrote about last week, Carr shows no leadership skills or command to get any of his teammates to follow him. Backups Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman show even less. The Raiders better be looking for a backup now, and my guess after this season, they might be looking for their permanent starter.
• In the opening game of the Steelers preseason, we saw second-year wide receiver James Washington, Brown’s potential replacement, excel. Washington won’t replace Brown, and he will fill the JuJu Smith-Schuster role as Schuster takes over Brown’s role. Two huge indicators for the Steelers to have a tremendous season happened in Tampa Bay on Friday. Devin Bush was a tackling machine and Washington showed his playmaking skills.
• David Montgomery of the Bears was electrifying and serves as further evidence that good backs are available throughout the draft. Montgomery will give the Bears loose plays, and in Matt Nagy’s offense, he will be able to showcase his versatility.
• Former Raiders head coach and television announcer John Madden often said, “When you have a lot of something, you don’t have anything.” No more actual words were relevant as they apply to the Redskins. They have a lot of quarterbacks in the depth chart but don’t have a legitimate starter.
• With many teams having joint practices, the NFL should televise them at night and give the fans more insight into their teams. The joint practices showcase the starters and feature the best versus the best and would provide fans with a better viewing experience than preseason games.
• Another week we have to say goodbye to another member of the NFL community. Long-time wide receivers coach Darryl Drake died in his sleep on Sunday. “We’re all devastated,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday. “I really can’t think of any other appropriate words.” To the Drake family, I offer my sincere condolences.