Cowboys Contracts: What's Changed By Dak Injury? 'Nothing'
FRISCO - Opinions, God bless 'em, are too often colored by emotion.
Facts, God bless 'em (even more), are ... well, they're facts. And when it comes to the assemblage of a football roster, taking into account talents and salaries and the balance of each, they are all that matter.
When it comes to the Dallas Cowboys' future health and future contract concerns, what is the grand total that they come up to, in terms of facts?
"None,'' says team owner Jerry Jones.
Outside of the Sunday tears and the continuing sympathy for a Dallas QB who underwent season-ending ankle surgery, I remain mystified as to how many Cowboys observers think "somebody screwed up'' or "somebody is owed something'' or "something has drastically changed.
How much of that is factually so?
"None,'' says the facts.
Dak “should be ready to go for our spring work, the latter part of the spring work,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas. “Knowing Dak and his makeup, he’ll be back out there soon.”
The Cowboys medical people project a five-month rehab. That puts Dak back on the field in April. Their projection isn't a guarantee, but it is a fact.
And what about the Cowboys contract people? Their position is also, to me, clear.
Amid all the stories about "new leverage'' and "bets lost,'' the Cowboys and Dak Prescott (repped by agent Todd France) will simply return to the same franchise-tag-vs.-long-term-deal table they occupied all last spring and summer. And ultimately, they will either force themselves to agree on the former (meaning a $37.7 million franchise tag for 2021) or letting Dak hit the open market.
ProFooballTalk.com includes a third option, writing, "Dak might hit the open market in 2021.'' I'm not sure if this is pot-stirring or misunderstanding, but it's wildly wrong.
Short of Dak's ankle surgery secretly being of the sort that ended in amputation, the Dallas Cowboys will not be forfeiting the rights to their most valuable player.
Jerry on the ankle: "I don’t have any concerns. It’s all positive relative to a recovery. It’s positive to his chances of getting it back to normal. This is one of those that you can mend and come back and be as good as gold.”
READ MORE: Jerry: Dak Injury Doesn't Change Cowboys' Super Goals
Jerry on the contract: "Dak is deserving of anything you want to put on a piece of paper relatively speaking. If you evaluate what he can do to help us win championships, you can see that it's there. Plus, he's a leader at the premier leader spot. We've got make it work.
"So, what am I saying? I'm saying exactly the same thing that I said the last time we asked about this before the season started. It's a part of the game is the business and the contract part."
So, how many things have really changed? Separate your head from your heart to understand.
"None'' of them have changed.
