In other words, Jones and the Cowboys feel they don't have enough information to make an offer, whether it's from the player side of the negotiations or the market itself, and conventional wisdom says the wait is long. They are fully aware that the longer they are, the more expensive they are. That contract.
Overall, Dallas' front office likes to move slowly and cautiously.
“When you're talking about big contracts like Dak, Sheedy and Micah, those things don't happen overnight,” executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones said. “Those things take time. There's timing based on what other teams are doing at that position.
“There's a lot of moving parts. Certainly, you want to get it right. …When you pay the kind of money that you ultimately have to pay to keep the money, you know it's being done right.” You'll want to make sure.”
Asked if the Cowboys might use a premium pick on a quarterback due to the uncertainty of Prescott's future, the senior Jones left no room for interpretation.
Don't bet on Prescott being replaced by a 2024 NFL Draft pick.
“We want Dak Prescott, that's all,” Jones said flatly.
Prescott reported on the first day of the team's voluntary offseason program, but Lamb hasn't reported yet, and it's unclear whether he will stick it out to expedite the contract negotiation process or hold back, while Parsons is also sidelined due to absence. are doing. The reason doesn't matter (he's training offsite the same way he did last spring).
Prescott initially expressed 100 percent confidence in March that he and the Cowboys would ultimately be able to come to terms on a new contract, saying, “We will.” A month later, his tone changed a bit and he no longer ruled out the possibility of him being elsewhere in 2025, repeating that he wanted to remain in Dallas.
Speaking at the annual Children's Cancer Foundation Gala, the charity he co-chairs with Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, Prescott spoke candidly about his current outlook.
“I'm focused on this moment, right now,” he said. “Once negotiations start and real talks happen, we can talk about getting it done, but at the moment I'm worried about how things will get better. I'm leaving that up to my agent and Jerry at the moment. . . . If negotiations start, I'm obviously going to be more involved.”
That's not to say Prescott hasn't talked to the front office at all, but rather that there hasn't been much traction other than a recent review of his contract that provided the Cowboys with millions of dollars in cap relief. ing.
“I've talked to Jerry, so obviously I understand our position,” he said. “Jerry said the same thing, so there's no gray area in that sense. We had a great conversation, got our minds on the same page and settled on where we are at this point.”
“…I'm not necessarily trying to get the highest salary. We're going to wait until the negotiations start, but I obviously want to put this team in the best situation.”
However, the Joneses do not place much emphasis on the “talk” aspect of negotiations.
“First of all, I respect Dak's way of working as much as anyone I've ever been around,” Jerry Jones said. “I think we have to realize that 'negotiations' is not at all a barometer of how close we are to a deal. It may be one of the least.
“…It would be a mistake to think that the ‘talks’ were the whole or the beginning of the time clock. Or it would be a mistake to think that it had that much to do with signing players. Those two things. [things] Not necessarily the same. ”
It's worth mentioning that the Cowboys were unexpectedly very active last training camp on the contract front. While aggressively extending All-Pro cornerback Trevon Diggs, they also signed new deals for other defensive starters, including Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker, as well as the right-handed starter. Tackle Terrence Steele.
Time will tell what the timelines for each of the big three will be, but there's no question the Cowboys want to keep Prescott, Lamb and Parsons around for years to come. That's all, “what'' is clear.
However, no one knows when and how.
