Next Up: What? Dak remains, Trey Lance is put to the test
The Dallas Cowboys need to start the long, hard process of retooling this offseason in an attempt to eventually alter their postseason destiny in the upcoming year. This entails first figuring out what went wrong in 2023—specifically, their five losses that may have signaled a problem going into the playoffs, as well as their loss to the Green Bay Packers on Super Wild Card Weekend.
Going forward, evaluating every position and having an open discussion about where players stand on the roster as free agency and the 2024 NFL Draft approach will be crucial.
In light of this, each position will be examined in this series, beginning with quarterback.
Past: It’s pretty clear how unfairly positioned the quarterback position in Dallas has been since Troy Aikman’s time, when he elevated an already legendary franchise to new heights and proved to be a more than worthy successor to players like Captain America himself, Roger Staubach, who continued the tradition after the legendary “Dandy” Don Meredith passed away.
Star quarterback Meredith was the first in Dallas history, and while Staubach guided the team to two of its five Super Bowl triumphs, Aikman outdid him with three Lombardi trophies.
Up until 2006, when Tony Romo—an undrafted free agent who received criticism akin to that of a first-overall pick—won the starting job, the post-Aikman period was an absolute disaster. Up until an injury in 2016, Romo continued to set franchise records and keep the Cowboys relevant. This allowed Dak Prescott to enjoy the finest rookie season of any quarterback in franchise history.
The Prescott age had started, and it started big, so there was no turning back.
Present: All things considered, the standard remains the same: winning the Super Bowl. Prescott finds himself up against the same wall that once contained his most direct predecessor’s complaints.
Nevertheless, despite coming off of a humiliating playoff defeat and a 2-5 playoff record going into this offseason, Prescott is unquestionably one of the best quarterbacks the team has ever had, both literally and statistically, and his MVP-caliber regular season earned him a third Pro Bowl selection and a third straight 12-win campaign.
Legends like Aikman haven’t given up on him, but as previously mentioned, this is Dallas, and that’s not enough to satisfy the bar. He would be the first to gladly confess it. Anticipate him to play for the Cowboys through the 2024 season, if not beyond. His future after that season will depend on the team’s decision over how to manage his impending $62 million salary cap charge.
Financially, an extension would settle the matter and keep Prescott safe for the foreseeable future. But, they might choose to just restructure it using a method already included in the agreement, which would eliminate the need for any negotiations and convert the $62 million cap hit into $21.8 million in excess cap.
Prescott is sticking put no matter how that bread is cut, which draws attention to what’s happening behind him on the depth chart.
Future: A lot of people outside the building wonder if the Cowboys will draft a quarterback in 2024 with a premium pick, but I don’t see that happening and don’t think it would make much sense given Trey Lance’s availability. The franchise expressed remorse for not selecting a quarterback until that point but was adamant that they would pick one in the 2023 NFL Draft. However, they did not select a quarterback in the draft.
In exchange for Lance, they received a 2024 fourth-round pick from the San Francisco 49ers last season. In my opinion, that is equivalent to selecting a pick this April, given that one of this year’s picks was used to acquire Lance. Furthermore, Lance is still very young despite not being a rookie—he was a former third-overall pick, no less.
Although it’s true that Cooper Rush, 30, has hit his peak and that Lance’s arrival was intended to prepare him to challenge Rush for the starting quarterback position in 2022, Rush has been a reliable presence behind Prescott.
In his attempt to reestablish his brand at the NFL level, Lance will have his first genuine shot at this battle at training camp this coming summer. This is a genuine chance for him to demonstrate the lessons he’s learned from Prescott and Rush as well as from McCarthy’s quarterback school.
By the way, should the Cowboys decline Lance’s fifth-year option, both he and Rush will enter contract years. Because of all of this, the 2024 backup quarterback competition will be among the more fascinating to watch.