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By Jon Machota 1h ago
Dak Prescott and the Cowboys have agreed to a four-year deal that prevents their franchise quarterback from potentially getting to free agency a year from now. This contract situation has been the biggest Cowboys storyline over the past year. Many are probably just happy it’s over. So, what’s next for the franchise?
Let’s look into the future while also breaking down the impact of Prescott’s new contract.
Seven key questions:
1. What does the Cowboys’ salary cap now look like for 2021?
It looks significantly better than it did 24 hours ago. Instead of having Prescott on the books for $37.7 million for the upcoming season, which it would have been if he had been playing under a second franchise tag, he will now count for only $22.2 million. This is because a new deal allows the Cowboys to spread his cap hit over the duration of the contract. That’s particularly good news in a year when the cap is being reduced to between $180 million and $185 million following the loss in revenue during the 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Including Prescott’s new deal, the Cowboys are about $1 million over a projected $180.5 million cap, according to Over the Cap. They can easily get under that number and have enough room to add help via free agency by restructuring two or three long-term contracts, most likely the ones belonging to wide receiver Amari Cooper and right guard Zack Martin. The Cowboys restructured the contracts of Martin, Tyron Smith and DeMarcus Lawrence last year to create an additional $26.6 million in cap space.
2. How will that specifically impact the way Dallas spends when free agency begins next week?
The Cowboys will not be major players in the free-agent market. Their spending is expected to be similar to that of the past eight years. They will attempt to fill holes so they aren’t forced to draft any particular position in April. The most notable positions to keep an eye on are free safety, defensive tackle and cornerback. That doesn’t mean they will be targeting anyone at the top of the market, so try not to focus on players like safety Anthony Harris, defensive tackle Leonard Williams and cornerback William Jackson III. Think more along the lines of safeties such as Malik Hooker or Keanu Neal, defensive tackles such as Ndamukong Suh or Sheldon Rankins, and cornerbacks such as Richard Sherman or Kevin King.
Also keep an eye on edge rusher. Knowing they needed a player to complement Lawrence at this time two years ago, the Cowboys traded for Robert Quinn. Seven months after that, they traded for Michael Bennett. Last April they signed Aldon Smith and then signed Everson Griffen in August. Lawrence and Randy Gregory seem to be a good bet to be the starting defensive ends this season. Dorance Armstrong should provide good depth. But the Cowboys will be looking for more help at the position. That could mean re-signing Smith. It could mean signing a different player in free agency.
Ndamukong Suh (Kim Klement / USA Today)
3. How does Prescott’s deal impact next month’s draft?
Much like free agency, it squarely puts the focus on improving the defense. Had Prescott been under the franchise tag going into the draft, the Cowboys would have had to draft a quarterback as early as with their first-round pick. They couldn’t gamble on the most important position and risk not having a backup plan if Prescott played under the tag for a second year and then left in free agency. Now, that path doesn’t even have to be considered.
The focus can now be on fixing what was one of the worst defenses in franchise history. Judging by how experts have evaluated this draft class, the Cowboys are probably best off attempting to fix their defensive backfield with multiple picks in the first few rounds. Finding immediate starters at cornerback and free safety would be ideal. The Cowboys have been reluctant to spend much on the safety position, but the importance of a quality, playmaking free safety in Dan Quinn’s Cover 3 zone scheme could change the strategy they used in previous years.
In a perfect world, the Cowboys would land starting-caliber players at cornerback, safety and defensive tackle with three of their first four picks. That might seem like asking for too much, but so too would have been asking for CeeDee Lamb and Trevon Diggs in the first two rounds a year ago.
4. What does this new contract say about Prescott’s ankle injury?
On the surface, it seems to say the Cowboys believe his recovery from a gruesome, season-ending ankle injury last October is going well. Prescott has since had two surgeries to repair the issue. But, as former Raiders CEO Amy Trask pointed out in our roundtable discussion, teams often purchase injury insurance when making substantial contractual commitments like this one. Either way, it appears Prescott is on track to return to his starting job to open the 2021 season.
5. Does the Prescott deal affect what the Cowboys do at backup QB?
Yes. The Cowboys would prefer to be in a similar situation as last year with a veteran like Andy Dalton backing up Prescott. If another reasonable deal comes along during free agency or a little after, like with Dalton following last year’s draft, the Cowboys would have interest. It seems like a decent bet that Dalton will find a better opportunity to play and make more money somewhere else. If not, the Cowboys would love to have him back.
How Prescott’s deal probably impacted their backup quarterback spot the most is that had he not signed a new contract before the draft, his backup might have been a rookie preparing to be the team’s 2022 starter.
Randy Gregory (Tim Heitman / USA Today)
6. Who is next in line for a significant new contract?
Randy Gregory and Michael Gallup immediately come to mind. Leighton Vander Esch’s recent injury history takes him out of any serious consideration at the moment. Dalton Schultz is in the final year of his rookie deal, and the Cowboys would like to keep him. But a contract extension for the team’s No. 2 tight end shouldn’t be too significant.
Gregory is entering the final year of his contract. He turned 28 in November and doesn’t have a lot of wear on his body after playing in only 38 games over the previous six seasons because of suspensions. If he turned in a double-digit sack year at right defensive end, the Cowboys would make a serious effort to keep him around. Gallup is another player they’d prefer to keep, but there’s been so much cap space used on offense (Prescott, Cooper, Martin, Ezekiel Elliott, Tyron Smith and La’el Collins) that they might not be able to retain him and Lamb for the long haul.
7. What should be the expectations for Prescott and the Cowboys in 2021?
At the very least, win the NFC East. Mike McCarthy was hired to guide the team beyond the divisional round of the playoffs. After a 6-10 finish in 2020, the expectations got knocked down a bit. But the division should still be among the worst in the NFL. And unless Washington finds an answer at quarterback, no roster in the NFC East is better than the one in Dallas. The air was completely taken out of the building and the Cowboys’ season when Prescott went down in Week 5 against the Giants last season. His return and new contract should be a major confidence booster for the franchise on and off the field. And the overall roster is still relatively young. According to Spotrac, the Cowboys’ average age is 25.9, 12th-youngest in the NFL. As long as a few key adjustments are made by the new members of the defensive coaching staff and a few defensive upgrades are made in free agency and the draft, this should be a team that gets back to double-digit wins.
