The Dallas Cowboys are heading into another offseason with plenty of decisions to make.
While Jerry Jones and company have to consider upcoming contract extensions for CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, the biggest decision will be choosing how to move forward with Dak Prescott at QB and the future when it comes to the Cowboys franchise QB.Ezoic
Essentially, Jones and the Dallas bras have three options when it comes to Prescott.
It;’s clear some fans are done with the Dallas Cowboys QB and the organization has reached a point where they have three major decisions to pick from this offseason according to team insider Mike Fischer.
Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys, Justin Fields Ezoic
As SI’s Mike FIscher recently noted, the first is to continue to bank on Prescott which would likely require making him maybe the highest-paid player in NFL history, maybe at $60 million APY. He’ll be a “Cowboy for Life” on a long-term deal. And Jerry Jones and the fan base will have to live with it.
There next — and mot likely option —is if Jones and company can persuade Prescott to take less, both to help the cap and as a bow to the fact that he’s not “the best player in NFL history. It’s likely the Dallas Cowboys attempt a move like this, but will Dak Prescott be okay with that knowing what other top QBs are making?
The next option is to cut or trade Prescott after June 1, the timing will help the cap ramifications just a bit. But the $59 million Cowboys QB still would have to be paid. Move on from Prescott and you “save” $34 million and you “gain” about $9 million of room in 2024.
While trading or releasing the Dallas Cowboys QB would free up a little much-needed cap space next season, Jerry Jones would have to be okay losing $25.5 million in dead money in ’24 and another $36.5 million dead in ’25. Not ideal at all but money may not be an issue if he’s made up his mind.Ezoic
NFL Writer Projects Dallas Cowboys Make Shocking Trade, Swap Dak Prescott for Justin Fields
Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott, Justin Fields
USA Today’s K.D. Drummond presented a scenario where both sides are unable to agree to a long-term extension. Under this scenario, Prescott could be open to waiving his no-trade clause in order to land a new lucrative contract elsewhere.Ezoic
Drummond suggests the Chicago Bears could be open to a Prescott for Justin Fields in a quarterback swap. The NFL analyst believes Chicago would need to throw in more to make the deal work, starting with the No. 9 pick.
“Grabbing Fields comes with little risk. His low 2023 salary ($2.3 million between base and roster bonus) is the best-case scenario in absorbing Prescott’s $62 million cap hit from a trade,” Drummond wrote in a January 22, 2024 article titled, “The ‘What If…?’ Mock Draft: Cowboys, Bears swap Dak Prescott for Justin Fields.”
Drummond believes the Dallas Cowboys would keep QB Trey Lance in this scenario, and use their high draft picks to possibly select a rookie QB, or build around Fields.
“They could keep the picks and see if a QB falls to them, trade up for a top QB, or stay put and grab players at other positions and roll with the two youngsters. Dallas would now have both Justin Fields and Lance under control for two seasons, and neither fifth-year option has to be enacted until after the draft, where Dallas now has the No. 9 and the No. 24 pick. The amount of options that gives Dallas is innumerable.”Ezoic
This is where things get complicated, because there is a real scenario where the Bears move on from Fields. Yet, Chicago would likely opt to use one of their two top-10 picks (including the No. 1 selection) on a younger and more affordable quarterback.
Dallas Cowboys Dak Prescott, Justin Fields
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Fields earned a 74.6 grade from Pro Football Focus for his play this season. Comparatively, Prescott earned a stellar 90.8 grade from PFF in 2023.
Cowboys fans will be quick to point out that this does not paint the complete picture. The problem with the Prescott and Mike McCarthy pairing has been the lack of postseason success, not how the duo performs during the regular season. Fields is much more of an unknown in the NFL playoffs.
Justin Fields is more a threat with his legs posting 657 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground in 13 starts this season. This came after Fields posted a career-high 1,143 rushing yards and 8 TDs in 2022. Fields also threw for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and 9 interceptions this season.
While it’s a fun scenario to think about and nothing is out of question when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys, it’s hard to see them moving on from Dak Prescott and a long-term deal is the most likely scenario.
