It's time Jerry Jones admits Cowboys need to move on from Dak Prescott
Dak Prescott entered the 2022 NFL season with the same goal as just about every year of his career: to win a Super Bowl ring with the Dallas Cowboys. While winning the ring is often a goal for many NFL quarterbacks, it becomes even more of a demand than a goal when playing for the Cowboys. This is a direct result of the astronomical expectations that owner Jerry Jones puts on his franchise every year.
Jones is one of the most outspoken owners and executives in the entire NFL. While he rarely hesitates to give his opinion on a wide variety of topics, there's nothing he loves more than talking about his Cowboys. He's also no stranger to making his expectations perfectly clear. He truly believes he will do everything he can to build a Super Bowl worthy team and he will let everyone know about it.
A great example of Jones' approach came following the Cowboys' early exit from the NFL Playoffs following the 2021 NFL season. They were defeated by the San Francisco 49ers in the Wild Card round, failing to win a single postseason game. Jones publicly expressed his disappointment with the early exit, clearly stating the team was good enough to win a Super Bowl, but epically failed.
After the frustration cleared, Jerry Jones was back to hyping up his Cowboys ahead of the 2022 NFL season. He expressed plenty of confidence in quarterback Dak Prescott, among others. He has consistently stated that he believes Dak Prescott is the quarterback that will bring the Cowboys their first Super Bowl ring since 1996.
The 2022 NFL season has now passed, with the Cowboys suffering a similar fate. While they defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round, they were outed again by the 49ers, but this time in the Divisional round. Dak Prescott deserves a good portion of the blame for the loss after throwing two crucial interceptions and an essentially game-ending three-and-out late in the fourth quarter.
Interceptions have become an alarming trend for Dak Prescott this year. He led the entire NFL with 15 interceptions during the regular season, despite missing five games with an injury. Despite his disappointing play, Jerry Jones continued to express confidence in Prescott eventually leading the Cowboys to a Super Bowl ring.
Jerry Jones: #DallasCowboys QB Dak Prescott “can take a team to a Super Bowl and win a Super Bowl.” https://t.co/zyKp29JEdK
While optimism is admirable, it may be time for Jerry Jones to start getting a bit more realistic. Prescott has failed to win more than a game in any postseason of his career, accumulating a 2-4 overall record in the playoffs. He's failed to show significant progress in getting closer to achieving their shared goal.
One thing's for sure, Jerry Jones will expect to win a Super Bowl again next year and he will clearly make that known. Whether that's with or without Dak Prescott is yet to be seen. Further complicating the issue is his contract. The Cowboys may be stuck with him whether they want him or not, at least for the short term.
Dak Prescott's NFL contract with the Dallas Cowboys
Dak Prescott signed a record-setting four-year contract with the Dallas Cowboys worth $160 million over four years. The deal keeps him under contract until the conclusion of the 2024 NFL season. While teams always have the option of terminating a contract early, it often comes with financial penalties in the form of dead cap money. Prescott's deal is a prime example.
If the Cowboys move on from Prescott in any way during the 2023 NFL offseason, they will be charged anywhere between $60 million to $90 million in dead cap money, depending on when and how he's removed from the roster. This makes his departure relatively unrealistic as such a penalty would be crippling to their overall roster flexibility.
In all likelihood, Dak Prescott will once again be the starting quarterback for the 2023 NFL season, whether Jerry Jones wants him or not.