What to do with Dak

[Simpleton]

On one hand Dak is pretty clearly a top 6-8ish QB in the league, very good but not great, and very good is worth paying in this league. On the other I think he's obviously scarred by his inability to get to the NFCC and beyond, and could be mentally fried in Dallas.

I've gone back and forth on re-signing him vs. not, and ultimately I don't think I have a very strong opinion either way, but given that we have a young OL filled with rookie deals that looks like it could be one of the best in the league within a year or two I'm leaning back towards re-signing.

Of course part of it is wanting to keep together one of the better rosters in the league and hoping the dice roll pays off one of these years, but one idea I've really been liking lately is simply re-signing him to use him as a bridge to the next QB where we stay competitive, keep the culture relatively strong and set the stage for what is hopefully the next "franchise" QB.

Basically treat Dak like the souped up version of Alex Smith that he is, pay him his $58/year or whatever (which is in line as a % of the cap with what guys like Hurts and Kyler Murray got), and be extremely aggressive about moving up for a QB in the 1st if the opportunity presents itself in the next year or two.

What I really like about this idea is that Dak is very obviously a selfish, greedy piece of shit with absolutely no interest in taking slightly less for the good of the roster around him. So when he spends the next 2-3 years putting up nice stats, winning 10-12 games a year and likely failing in the playoffs again, make him suffer the indignity of having the entire fanbase/media speculating about and calling for the rookie/2nd year QB that we hopefully move up for in the draft in the next year or two.

He'll have his money, and maybe we get lucky in the playoffs somewhere along the way, but if not give him an inglorious exit with a few uncomfortable years at the end as he watches his successor slowly evolve into the starter amidst what will surely be a backdrop of hysteria from fans and the media.

 

[Irving Cowboy]

Someone years ago on here said the best thing a real GM could do would be to draft a QB every year somewhere in the first four rounds.

I would rather let him walk than pay him 60M+ a year to be very good.

 

[mcnuttz]

A repeat Super Bowl winner like Mahomes deserves his obscene contract, but it's ridiculous that his rate is now a starting point for these goobers who can't win their own conference.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

Not sure I care much either way. We won't spend the money to win a Superbowl regardless.

 

[Rev]

Not sure I care much either way. We won't spend the money to win a Superbowl regardless.

This is where I am at.

Although they will will wait until the last second and overpay as usual. Then complain about pie leafs when Micah is coming down to the last second.

 

[Cowboysrock55]

This is where I am at.

Although they will will wait until the last second and overpay as usual. Then complain about pie leafs when Micah is coming down to the last second.

Yep, last minute a new deal will get done. Same with Parsons. Just like Lamb.

 

[Cotton]

Just re-sign him already. You know you're going to in the end. Why make the same mistake you made a couple of years go when the market got reset.

 

[Newt]

I'm indifferent on this one. I think Dak is a really good QB, top 10 for sure, it gets hard to name QB's better than him outside of the top 5.

Drafting QB's is such a crap shoot though. Dak basically fell in our laps. The QB's drafted ahead of him are all trash. There is no sure thing.

At this point we kind of have to pay him. We have an O-line, a top 5 receiver, and Defense that should be really decent. I can't give the Jones family much credit because they really do botch just about every easy situation, but this team is in better shape than most as far as talent goes.

You gotta hope that Dak can get over the hump. We aren't getting a Mahomes, Jackson, or Burrow anytime soon.

 

[Simpleton]

I'm indifferent on this one. I think Dak is a really good QB, top 10 for sure, it gets hard to name QB's better than him outside of the top 5.

Drafting QB's is such a crap shoot though. Dak basically fell in our laps. The QB's drafted ahead of him are all trash. There is no sure thing.

At this point we kind of have to pay him. We have an O-line, a top 5 receiver, and Defense that should be really decent. I can't give the Jones family much credit because they really do botch just about every easy situation, but this team is in better shape than most as far as talent goes.

You gotta hope that Dak can get over the hump. We aren't getting a Mahomes, Jackson, or Burrow anytime soon.

This is where I'm at, it's ridiculous, but so is the contract that the Jags gave Lawrence, that the Dolphins gave Tua, that the Cards gave Murray, so on and so forth.

But I think the key is that the team has to have the mindset that this will be Dak's last deal, barring something unlikely like a SB, and that it should be a bridge to the next QB. I love the idea of trading up for a QB (if there's one worth it of course) in year 2 of a new Dak deal and letting him squirm for a year or two while people call for the draft pick to play.

 

[Texas Ace]

I've always believed that if you're convinced a guy can't win big, you let him walk -- and I'm convinced Dak will never perform his best with it matters most.

I would not pay him 60 million a year.

I say let him play out the year and if he manages to do something that surprises us all and plays his best in January (assuming we get there), then you pay him.

That's what I would do, at least.

 

[p1_]

I've always believed that if you're convinced a guy can't win big, you let him walk -- and I'm convinced Dak will never perform his best with it matters most.

I would not pay him 60 million a year.

I say let him play out the year and if he manages to do something that surprises us all and plays his best in January (assuming we get there), then you pay him.

That's what I would do, at least.

Same. He needs to do something in the postseason to merit that large a contract.

Another early playoff exit where his poor play is a determining factor wont cut it.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

I've always believed that if you're convinced a guy can't win big, you let him walk -- and I'm convinced Dak will never perform his best with it matters most.

I would not pay him 60 million a year.

Same here. Yes, it's a risk - you could be the Redskins after Cousins and really suck for years if you let him go. But I'm willing to take that risk. This is just a stale situation with Dak. I'm tired of him.

And bringing in a Ben Johnson or Slovik won't help, I don't think. Too hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Just look at Mike having to keep the old system when he came in, and even when he gets to install his own, it's sort of a half-ass hybrid because they don't want Dak to have to learn too much new stuff too fast. Dak will be even older and have more leverage the next time.

Although of course that's what Jerry will sell, that he's a great drafter and we have an incredibly talented team, so coaching must be the problem.

One thing, Simp... If we're a competent team, that's a ton of draft capital to move high enough to draft a potentially very good starter. Is that even realistic?

 

[Simpleton]

Same here. Yes, it's a risk - you could be the Redskins after Cousins and really suck for years if you let him go. But I'm willing to take that risk. This is just a stale situation with Dak. I'm tired of him.

And bringing in a Ben Johnson or Slovik won't help, I don't think. Too hard to teach an old dog new tricks. Just look at Mike having to keep the old system when he came in, and even when he gets to install his own, it's sort of a half-ass hybrid because they don't want Dak to have to learn too much new stuff too fast. Dak will be even older and have more leverage the next time.

Although of course that's what Jerry will sell, that he's a great drafter and we have an incredibly talented team, so coaching must be the problem.

One thing, Simp... If we're a competent team, that's a ton of draft capital to move high enough to draft a potentially very good starter. Is that even realistic?

Why not?

The Chiefs did it with Mahomes, it's a bit of a gamble but I think we could make it happen and it'd give us plenty of time to find the right opportunity. I just have no faith that the FO will look at it that way.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

Why not?

The Chiefs did it with Mahomes, it's a bit of a gamble but I think we could make it happen and it'd give us plenty of time to find the right opportunity. I just have no faith that the FO will look at it that way.

They got incredibly lucky on him though not just to get him at all but to get him at #10. Imagine having to try to get up to the top 5.

I like your plan, though. Especially the part about Dak feeling more heat when we don't get any farther.

Maybe another part of the plan is you definitely aren't stupid enough to put another no-trade clause in this one, so if we have another year like the last ones, Dak will actually want to be traded and we get good picks to use as ammo to move up.

Though you're right, over-optimistic Jerry won't do this. He'll think if we can win 10 or 11 games we're close to winning it all, and won't take that chance. The self-proclaimed risk taker has turned into a giant gaping hole.

 

[Smitty]

Trade him

 

[Bill Shatner]

He's not an assassin. He folds in playoffs most of the time. Just not worth the money he is going to command on the market. I'm ready for the struggle years looking for the next QB instead of the annual disappointment watching this guy flounder in the playoffs.

 

[GShock]

The money is fake. It doesn't matter. Spending a lot on him wouldn't preclude us from spending a lot on others. Saving money on him doesn't guarantee the skinflints will spend the savings to improve the team.

I don't think he's good enough. But he at least gets us into the tournament. And maybe things break right. Probably not, but at least there's a chance.

12-5 isn't good enough. But it's about 7 weeks better than the Aikman to Romo desert. And that's 100% what we face without him.

Johnny Manziel
Paxton Lynch
Connor Church
Trey Lance

That's the QB decision-making we would face.

Unwatchable.

So 7 weeks of happiness with a chance in the payoffs and watching him take the hillbillies' money vs. 5-12 and the eventual overpay to get someone who may or may not be better than Dak?

No-brainer.

 

[Chocolate Lab]

It's not 100% that we'd have a Troy to Romo desert, though. We didn't have a desert after Romo.

As dumb as Jerry is, we have been pretty good at drafting. Would the next QB he another Mahomes, or even a top-3,4 kind of QB? Odds say no. But I bet we could find someone else to go 2-5 in the playoffs and never get past the divisional round.

 

[Simpleton]

The money is fake. It doesn't matter. Spending a lot on him wouldn't preclude us from spending a lot on others. Saving money on him doesn't guarantee the skinflints will spend the savings to improve the team.

I don't think he's good enough. But he at least gets us into the tournament. And maybe things break right. Probably not, but at least there's a chance.

12-5 isn't good enough. But it's about 7 weeks better than the Aikman to Romo desert. And that's 100% what we face without him.

Johnny Manziel
Paxton Lynch
Connor Church
Trey Lance

That's the QB decision-making we would face.

Unwatchable.

So 7 weeks of happiness with a chance in the payoffs and watching him take the hillbillies' money vs. 5-12 and the eventual overpay to get someone who may or may not be better than Dak?

No-brainer.

Generally I agree but only if they start looking for his successor in the draft immediately.

Doesn't have to be in 2025 or 2026 necessarily, but they need to have the mindset that this is the last contract they'll give Dak barring some sort of NFCC/SB success.

 

[data]

Get rid of Dak and good luck trying to replace Ezekiel Elliott.