NFC Championship Game? The Dallas Cowboys lost to the Green Bay Packers and didn't survive Wild Card Weekend. While Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn face their own class of disaster music, Dak Prescott is getting his fair share of slings and arrows after yet another playoff failure.
At this point, it's hard to deny Prescott's reputation for coming up small in big games. He is now 2-5 in his playoff career. Among quarterbacks who started at least five games, no quarterback has a lower postseason winning percentage than Prescott.
While we don't consider wins to be a quarterback statistic, Prescott has produced more disappointing games than good ones in the playoffs. His recent failures have many fans believing he is not good enough to take the Cowboys to the Super Bowl.
There's even talk that Dallas should move on from Prescott permanently this offseason and start over at quarterback. It would be an interesting conversation, so let's consider whether or not there is a possibility of trading Dak.
No, the Cowboys cannot trade Prescott. Due to multiple restructurings in his current contract, Prescott will have a $59.455 million cap hit in 2024. He also has a no-trade clause and a clause that prevents him from being given the franchise tag in 2025.
Not only can Dallas not trade Dak, but his contract gives them maximum leverage in contract extension negotiations, which is the only way to lower their cap number. For a trade to happen, Prescott, not the Cowboys, would have to waive his no-trade clause.
Dak Prescott's performance against the Packers remains unchanged, as his 2024 salary cap number is $59.455 million, a no-trade clause, and a clause that prevents the franchise tag in 2025. He still has influence in extension negotiations.
— Joel Corry (@corryjoel) January 15, 2024
The Cowboys have two options: Prescott is out next year at a cost of $60 million against the cap, and they have every chance of building a championship roster (contract extensions with CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons, Free agent re-signing, etc.), but it's possible to either get him out of his contract for free in 2025, or pay him to make room for another signing.
It's not an enviable situation considering Prescott's lack of playoff success, but Dallas has no one to blame but themselves. Prolonging Dak's first contract negotiations. Currently, the quarterback market starts at $60 million per year. Many would argue that Prescott doesn't have that much value, but then again, he has all the leverage given the terms of his current contract and had the best regular season of his career. I just spent it.
Many Cowboys fans may want to eliminate Prescott. But if you feel that way, know that you're on Skip Bayless' side.. But as far as a trade goes, Prescott would need to be available for it to be in the realm of possibility.
