The Dallas Cowboys have been quietly operating on the open market this offseason, but the same goes for their internal business order. Quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and star pass rusher Micah Parsons are all scheduled to receive raises in their next contracts. The Cowboys have expressed clear interest in keeping all three players in Dallas long-term, but have not signed them to contract extensions.
What are the three priorities of importance? Who is the strange man? With all three players signed to big contracts, can the Cowboys end their championship drought?we asked The AthleticThe Cowboys beat writers John Machota and Saad Yusuf to assess the situation.
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Of the three big contracts the Cowboys have, how would you rank them in terms of importance?
Machota: Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons, and CeeDee Lamb. Prescott is the team's leader and plays the most important position. The NFL doesn't have enough franchise quarterbacks. His contract will take up the most salary cap space. Parsons is an absolute game changer defensively. Some would argue that drafting him was the biggest reason why Dallas won 12 games in the regular season for three years in a row. Lamb has become one of the NFL's elite wide receivers and deserves to be paid as well. However, even though he is one of the highest paid wide receivers, it doesn't make much sense to use a player who doesn't know who will get him the ball. And that's another reason why signing Prescott is so high on this list. To maximize Lamb's value, the Cowboys need to acquire a quality starting quarterback.
Yusuf: If one of the players in the group is a franchise quarterback, its importance is always at the top of the list. Prescott gives the Cowboys a sense of security. He has a strong presence as a leader in the locker room and is a regular season top 10 quarterback on the field. Whether it's the front office or the fan base, Prescott is the type of player who can talk about himself like this. of Despite the postseason shortcomings of the past decade or so.
The situation with Lamb and Parsons is a little more nuanced. Both are among the best players at their respective positions and are elite first-round picks by the Cowboys. But, as mentioned above, Lamb plays a position that relies on his surroundings, especially the quarterback. He has a good relationship with Prescott, but if Prescott has a problem, it spills over to Ram. Lamb's talent is undisputed, but his chemistry with quarterbacks other than Prescott is a mystery.
In a league where the quarterback position is the most important, putting pressure on the quarterback is also very important. Few do it better than Parsons. For me, the main reason his extension falls to No. 3 is because of the time Parsons has left on his rookie contract, as he still has two years left on his rookie contract.
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If there was one odd guy between Prescott, Lamb and Parsons who considered a future with the Cowboys, who would it be?
Machota: Parsons. Jerry Jones rarely lets stars quit at the peak of their careers, so I believe all three will be re-signed. That's one reason the Cowboys have been so cautious with their free agent spending. They don't want to put themselves in a position where they might not be able to re-sign all three. Parsons was selected simply because his asking price could reach a level where the Cowboys decide they are better off going in a different direction.
San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa currently leads the NFL as the highest-paid defender at $34 million per season. Parsons probably wants to beat that number. But how much? Everything will probably be fine in that neighborhood. But what if it's significantly higher than that? If contract negotiations get tough, they might try to get a trade done. I don't think it has reached that level, but it cannot be completely eliminated.
Yusuf: Parsons' reasoning is valid. The wide receiver position could be a focal point against the Rams compared to pass rusher and quarterback.
Prescott has played eight full years in the NFL. Even excluding the injury-shortened 2020 season, seven years is a large enough sample size to make a judgment call. Prescott did well in the regular season, but fell short in the postseason. The same goes for the team as a whole, but Prescott is often more part of the problem than the exception when the stakes are highest.
Another consideration is price. In recent years, the Cowboys have watched their conference rival, the 49ers, and their divisional rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, reach the Super Bowl by acquiring quarterbacks on rookie contracts. Neither Brock Purdy nor Jalen Hurts were top-50 draft picks, but both were backed by strong rosters.
History suggests these are exceptions, especially considering the lack of postseason success under Coach Prescott and whether Trey Lance shows any substance this summer. , could be something to consider for the Cowboys. The risk on the other side is wandering through the Chad Hutchinson/Quincy Carter/Vinny Testaverde/Drew Bledsoe wilderness.
Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons still has two years left on his rookie contract, so it's unlikely he'll leave Dallas anytime soon. (Jim Dedmon/USA Today)
Do you expect any of these to be an issue with offseason practices and training camp participation?
Machota: Certainly it is possible. The biggest surprise would be Prescott not showing up for offseason workouts or training camp. He has been in similar situations before and still shows up. Lamb and Parsons may not participate, considering this could be the biggest contract of their careers. Doing so can have a significant impact on contract negotiations. That worked for Zach Martin during training camp last year.
I wonder how Prescott, Lamb and Parsons feel about the Cowboys doing so little in the first three weeks of free agency. The combination of no new contract extensions for top players, former teammates leaving in free agency, and few additions sounds like a recipe for team dissatisfaction. But Jerry Jones might be okay with some frustration among the players after the season ended the way it did.
Yusuf: My biggest concern would be Lamb, especially once training camp starts and no new extension is signed. In public comments, Parsons seemed fairly accepting of his position and seemed to understand that the Cowboys had an order to follow. Prescott is the leader of the team. Whether he is absent during OTAs or not, and there is no indication that he will be, I fully expect him to participate in training camp. At his position, Lamb seems the most likely guy to hold out, with everything he's proven and a contract year coming up.
What is your confidence level that the Cowboys can win the Super Bowl with all three players signed to huge contracts?
Machota: Regarding the situation over the past 10 years. Until they get past the divisional round, there's no reason to believe these seasons will be better than the past 28 seasons. These three players didn't have their best game against the Packers in the wild card round, but they are still too valuable to move on. There is no doubt that almost every team in the league would like to make these three decisions.
Paying all three would put the Cowboys in a tough position in terms of acquiring veteran talent, but they haven't been a mainstay in that area for over a decade. To fill in the gaps, you need to draft well. Dallas has been one of the best drafting teams in the NFL over the past decade. Although not all drafts resulted in big returns, in many cases the Cowboys found useful talent. And that must continue even if Prescott, Lamb and Parsons all re-sign. I'm confident they'll be able to overcome more challenges with these three than they would without them on the roster.
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Yusuf: The answer to this question revolves around two things: these three players and their potential contracts. When it comes to athletes, here are some samples to follow. All three have been key players over the past three seasons, and the results remain the same. I understand that many fans are probably tired of hearing the same buzz that he won 12 games in each of the past three seasons, but that's not the case. there is nothingEven if they don't win in the postseason.
However, this only happened with Prescott on an open market contract and Parsons and Lamb on rookie contracts.Parsons gets a lot of extra dollars despite the salary cap increase and Lamb would keep Prescott at market value while significantly limiting the Cowboys' front office, which is already reluctant to spend money, especially on the open market.
The only silver lining is that the Cowboys are a good team in the draft. If you can get draft picks and get players on rookie contracts who contribute in key roles, like Parsons and Lamb have done in recent years (and Prescott before that), it works to tie up a lot of cap money on a few players. They have the potential to – if they have those players, give valuable performances in the regular season and postseason. Cowboys players haven't done that for the past 30 years.
(Top photo of CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
