Much of the offseason has been occupied by people trying to decipher exactly what Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones meant by “all out.”
Is it to acquire a big free agent and beat the salary cap through 2027? Or is it to sign a star player like Dak Prescott who needs a new contract?
As it turns out, it might be neither.
NFL Network's Rich Eisen was at the Scouting Combine all week, listening, and upon his return had quite the list of rumors at his disposal. Eisen is now a well-respected figure in the industry, and has been for decades, so I'm not going to take this with a grain of salt.
Eisen revealed some of the conversations he overheard during the scouting combine in Indianapolis that have to do with Prescott's contract situation and Cowboys Nation, which he'll want to sit down with.
“The rumors I heard from multiple people at the combine are about him.” [Jerry Jones’] “The definition of going all-in is to let Dak play his four-ball year to the end, not extend it at all, and just eat the cap hit,” Eisen said on the Rich Eisen Show.
“This is what he means when he's all in. Hey Dak, you've never won in the playoffs except for a couple around here, last year was really bad, I'm going to let you play until the end, and I… It means I'm going to eat.'' 59 is worth nearly $60 million.if you do what i want [win a Super Bowl], hold me over the barrel because I don't think it would cost him $59 million to sit still? I was really surprised when I heard that. ”
DALE ZANINE-USA TODAY SPORTS, Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SPORTS
Now, CowboysSI.com has already detailed the three options Dallas has at its disposal as to what to do with Prescott's contract, not extending Prescott's contract and greatly limiting what the team can do in terms of roster construction. No restrictions were considered. Please seriously consider this.
Well, according to Eisen, that's not just a consideration, it might be the path Jerry takes.
This contradicts what Dak said at a Children's Cancer Foundation event on Monday that the quarterback was “confident” the deal would get done.
The Cowboys have already had an awkward offseason with news of Tyron Smith hitting free agency, and Eisen rumors, and let's just call it that for now, but the franchise He faces a seriously pressured offseason that is shaping up to be just fine.
The Cowboys need to be cap compliant by March 13th (the start of the new league year), so they won't have to wait to find out exactly what Jerry means by “all in.”
But a team that won't use an extension or “Band-Aid” method for Dak and add quality to a roster that many consider “Super Bowl-caliber” by swallowing Prescott's monster 2024 cap hit. Doesn't scream “all in” by severely limiting the ability to do it?
Prescott's contract situation and future just got more interesting.
