Dak Prescott: '20-Game Goal' for Cowboys Coach Mike McCarthy

PHOENIX - With so much talk centered around the NFL schedule, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is looking for an extension.

Many of those still adjusting to an 18th week on the gridiron calendar need not worry: McCarthy's looking for an extension for his squad and his squad only, setting a goal of playing 20 games in the upcoming 2023-24 season. McCarthy presumably refers to the double decalogue schedule provided to the holder of the NFC's first-round bye and eventual Super Bowl participant.

“My goal is for Dak to play 20 games next year," McCarthy said at the NFL owners meetings here in Phoenix, speaking to CowboysSI.com and a small group of reporters. "If he plays 20 games next year, obviously we’ll be right where we want to be.”

That's a clear sign of McCarthy's goal and vision for his fourth season at the helm of America's Team. But it also shows that, ideally, he'd like to have Prescott healthy for the entirety of the hypothetical championship run. Prescott has not played a full season since 2019, missing five games last season due to a finger injury sustained in the opening weekend loss to Tampa Bay.

To that end, McCarthy wants to bolster the Cowboys' pass blocking: Dallas let up only 1.5 sacks a game last season (tied for the third-best rate in the league) but ranked 28th in pass block win rate and was 17th in pressure percentage (20.7 percent of dropbacks). Dallas has already inked Chuma Edoga, formerly of the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons, on the free agency front and also features strong incumbents like veterans Zack Martin and Tyron Smith while Tyler Smith comes back after a breakout freshman campaign, as does first-time Pro Bowl representative Tyler Biadasz.

Further opportunities to bolster the line loom on April 27-29, when the Cowboys partake in the 2023 NFL Draft. ... after which the "20-game goal'' awaits.

Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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