Despite nearly three decades of playoff futility, the Dallas Cowboys remain one of the NFL’s marquee franchises.
And when high expectations result in dismal failures, drama always seems to follow.
On Tuesday’s episode of ESPN’s “NFL Live,” analyst Adam Schefter reported that the Cowboys have made no progress in contract talks with quarterback Dak Prescott, which makes Dallas a “sleeper” team to select a young signal-caller in the 2024 NFL Draft, scheduled for April 25-27 in Detroit.
Those comments came during a segment in which Schefter and host Hannah Storm, joined by NFL analysts Tim Hasselbeck and Marcus Spears — both former players — discussed the contract situations of top Cowboys players and the state of the team entering the 2024 season.
First, Schefter predicted that the Cowboys would sign three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver CeeDee Lamb to a new contract.
Like Lamb, Prescott currently has only one year remaining on his deal. And according to Schefter, the star receiver might not have his quarterback beyond 2024.
Schefter, in fact, reported “no noticeable progress at all” between the Cowboys and Prescott, “which sets him up to play the last year of his contract and become a free agent after the season.”
Curiously, the two sides “didn’t even have any meaningful discussions” about a contract earlier this off-season, Schefter said.
“It’s gonna create one more dramatic storyline to follow in a year where a lot of people are under the gun in Dallas,” Schefter said.
Do you think Dak Prescott will leave the Cowboys?
Hasselbeck and Spears then spent the next few minutes discussing whether Prescott or the Cowboys had more leverage in contract negotiations. Both former players agreed that Prescott had the upper hand. After all, many NFL teams struggle to find a dynamic quarterback, and Dallas has one at least for another year.
With that in mind, Schefter predicted that the prospect of losing Prescott could force the Cowboys’ hand in the draft.
“At some point in time, they might have to draft a quarterback higher than you’d think,” Schefter said.
Readers may view the full segment below. Schefter’s initial comments on Prescott began around the 2:30 mark. The draft-related comments started around the 6:55 mark.
Of course, the Cowboys’ lengthy record of playoff futility always acts as the elephant in the room.
Since Prescott entered the NFL in 2016, he has amassed a 73-41 record. His personal accolades include an AP Offensive Rookie of the Year award and three Pro Bowl selections. In 2023, he led the league with 410 completions and 36 touchdown passes, finishing second in MVP voting.
In the playoffs, however, Prescott’s Cowboys have crashed and burned. The quarterback’s 2-5 postseason record includes a humiliating 48-32 home loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan. 14.
But Prescott’s dismal playoff record requires substantial context, dating back to before the quarterback’s birth in 1993.
In the 26 seasons between the 1970 AFL-NFL merger and the Cowboys’ most recent championship in 1995-96, Dallas appeared in eight Super Bowls, winning five of them. During that stretch, the team also reached 14 NFC championship games.
But oh, how the mighty have fallen.
In the 28 seasons played between 1996 and 2023, the Cowboys have qualified for the playoffs 13 times. But they have never advanced past the divisional round.
Thus, after reaching the conference championship game 14 times in 26 seasons, Dallas has now gone 28 seasons with zero championship game appearances.
Prescott, therefore, bears some but not all of the responsibility for team’s legacy of disappointment.
With that in mind, earlier this off-season Prescott seemed likely to receive a lucrative contract and remain in Dallas.
However, in March, a woman identified Victoria Shores accused Prescott of sexually assaulting her in 2017. A day earlier, the quarterback had filed a lawsuit claiming attempted extortion. If the ongoing police investigation has played a role in the Cowboys’ decision not to engage Prescott in serious contract negotiations, Schefter did not say.
Either way, Cowboys fans will want to pay extra attention to the early rounds of the upcoming draft. They might just learn the name of their future starting quarterback.
