The Cowboys once more choked in the playoffs last season, leading everyone to believe that they had seen the last of QB Dak Prescott in Dallas. However, Jerry Jones had different plans, choosing to retain not only Prescott but also HC Mike McCarthy. Analysts time and time again have endorsed the end of Prescott and McCarthy’s stay in Dallas. The latest to hold that stance is a former quarterback and ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky.
In his segment on First Take, Orlovsky put forth his argument on why it is time for America’s Team to move on from Prescott and McCarthy.
“I would blow the whole thing up, and start over again, both at quarterback and a head coach in Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott… Here is the reality in Dallas: there are going to be Super Bowl expectations without Super Bowl support.”
Orlovsky, in his argument, tries to dismantle the reasoning some have given for keeping McCarthy and Prescott since they are in their last year of contract. The ESPN analyst, however, believes that this increases pressure on them for Super Bowl success, despite no considerable improvements in the roster. He commented on how this translates for Prescott as he said:
“They’re going into the last year of their contracts with a ‘hey, you have to win a divisional round or the NFC Championship or get fired,’ without the necessary means to go do so. And those two guys are going to get blamed for it. They’ve lost five starters, and they can’t afford new people.”
The Cowboys have been relatively quiet this offseason despite promises of an overhaul. This is perhaps due to their cap space situation, which has been relatively low due to the paychecks of Prescott, Ceedee Lamb, and Micah Parsons. According to Orlovsky, the Cowboys haven’t built up the roster to support Prescott enough to have a Super Bowl-worthy team. Putting all their money into a few assets will put increased pressure on those assets to win, but the supporting cast is just not there.
Dak Prescott Takes a Paycut to Help Out the Cowboys
Per ESPN, Dak Prescott revised his contract for the 2024 season by transforming his $5 million roster bonus into a signing bonus. This adjustment resulted in a reduction of Prescott’s cap number to $55,455 million for the upcoming season, thereby generating an additional $4 million in cap space for the Cowboys.
As Orlovsky pointed out, the Cowboys haven’t been able to do much in free agency due to the looming paydays for star players Ceedee Lamb and Micah Parsons. While Prescott’s restructured deal has given the Cowboys more room to work with, will it be enough to make any major changes?
While Prescott played the best he has ever done in his career last season, the Cowboys still fell short. There’s a lot on Prescott’s shoulders this season, who is waiting to reach an extension deal with the Cowboys, who in turn seem to be holding the extension on a fishing line in front of the QB.
