The Dallas Cowboys did it yet again and Dak Prescott — with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run from smart people both inside the Dallas building and media/analysts from outside — believed this 2023 squad was different.
Why?
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered Saturday’s wildcard round matchup as two-score favorites over the Green. Bay Packers, who have a first-year starting QB and the youngest roster in the NFL.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He came into Sunday’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
After another disappointing early exit in the playoffs, the Dallas brass entered the offseason with more question marks than answers.
Initially, the expectation was Jerry Jones and company would sign Prescott to a contract extension to free up cap space and keep the core of their star players in place.
But in a recent development, reports have confirmed both Prescott and the Cowboys are going to let their franchise QB finish out his current deal, making him a free agent after 2024 unless the two sides can reach an agreement before the end of the 2024 campaign.
Dallas Cowboys Projected To Replace Dak Prescott With Trevor Lawrence At QB
Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but in the playoffs, he has been something of a disaster, throwing 7 interceptions in seven games and logging a 2-5 record.
It feels like Jerry Jones has reached a point where he wants to either see his franchise QB prove it on the big stage, or make the decision to part ways and start with someone new.
USA Today’s Cowboys Wire is speculating on potential replacements for Prescott. And one name is especially interesting: former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars to be the next franchise QB for the Dallas Cowboys.
Cowboys Wire writer K.D. Drummond sees Lawrence as either a short- or long-term solution at QB:
“The third-year starter couldn’t lead Jacksonville to double-digit wins and regressed from his top-10 MVP campaign of 2022. The Jaguars placed the fifth-year option on him, so he’d have to be put on the trade market in order for the Cowboys to acquire his services, but if the former No. 1 selection doesn’t turn the corner, he could be available for trade if Jacksonville goes another direction in the draft next year, or he could come free in 2026 if Dallas lands a bridge QB if Prescott leaves town.”
If the Dallas Cowboys can somehow pull off a trade for Lawrence, they will be getting a capable franchise QB with a ton of upside at a much cheaper price than Prescott.
That’s a relative bargain compared to the site’s Prescott projection, which comes in at four years and $225 million, or $56.25 million per year.
It seems like a long shot for the Cowboys to seriously end up with Lawrence as their QB, but it’s certainly an intriguing situation to keep an eye on.
