Dak Prescott ‘Final Year’ With Cowboys? Why SI Prediction is Wrong

The pressure to succeed is on for the Dallas Cowboys in 2023, but that is like any other year. As coach Mike McCarthy acknowledges, "pressure is a privilege"; It is what he gets paid to deal with. And the same goes for quarterback Dak Prescott.

Pressure is what comes with the job of being the starting quarterback in Dallas. Since joining the Cowboys in 2016 as a fourth-round pick, Prescott has been chasing greatness, working in the shadow of those who came before him, like Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman.

Prescott hasn't delivered the championships those two men did for the Cowboys, but he has performed at a high level. The Cowboys signal-caller seems to be on the verge of breaking through the ceiling that has blocked Dallas from playing an NFC Championship game since 1995.

Yes, a narrative is building that it is NFC championship or bust for not only McCarthy but also Prescott.

"Jerry Jones’s patience with Prescott has to be running short after another divisional-round exit last season," Sports Illustrated recently wrote about what we "learned" from the Cowboys this offseason. "With Prescott due for another contract, the Jones family might consider moving on from the quarterback if the Cowboys don’t at least reach the NFC title game …”

We understand the extra noise: it is largely because Dak led the league in interceptions last year with 15. But we also understand the Cowboys’ plan, the Cowboys’ thinking and the Cowboys’ cap.

So it is with respect to our SI colleagues that it would not be feasible financially to get rid of Prescott under his current deal as Cowboys' signal-caller is set to count $59 million in 2024 on the cap.

Furthermore, recognizing that - as part of the long-term plan that once included that bloated figure - the Cowboys have all along planned on an extension being agreed to before the start of the 2024 season … maybe as soon as this off-season.

And once they do that? The Cowboys will have even less immediate escapability. … for if Dak doesn’t play up to expectations and truly “busts” this year? The only option for the Cowboys to get any cap relief would be by trading him or cutting him before June 1, 2024 - although they'd still eat over $80 million in dead money.

Getting rid of Prescott is just not feasible for the Cowboys on his current deal. Nor will it feasible once the new extension is signed.

As for the perceived patience of Jerry Jones "running out”? Our Mike Fisher of CowboysSI.com has addressed this in a Video Visit quizzing of the owner, asking Jerry to confirm the extension plan while also asking if it’s about Jones’ faith in the player or the virtually inescapable “bed that’s been made” cap-wise.”

“Both!” Jones told Fish, offering clarity and reality about the future of Dak Prescott and his Dallas Cowboys.

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