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 las year’s 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 now it’s clear both Prescott and the Cowboys are going to ride out the final year of the QB’s current deal, making him a free agent after 2024 unless the two sides can reach an agreement before the end of the 2024 campaign.
With Trevor Lawrence’s recent record-breaking contract, Prescott holds all the leverage. Jones should have acted swiftly and inked him to a new deal right when the offseason began which would have allowed the Cowboys to add talent around him, but instead, the Dallas owner did nothing.
Dallas Cowboys DB Malik Hooker Sounds Off On Dak Prescott
Earlier this week Cowboys safety Malik Hooker joined Keyshawn Johnson on a podcast where the two discussed several topics involving the current Dallas team.
When the question of which current Cowboys star should be paid first and the order in which they should be paid came up, Hooker went out of his way to praise Dak Prescott, who is heading into 2024 playing out the final year of his current contract.
Malik Hooker on Dak Prescott as a student of the game and his perseverance as a leader dealing with adversity. pic.twitter.com/SS0lfxlSvJ
— MartinTalkCowboys (@DAK_4_MVP) June 28, 2024
“I feel like Dak doesn’t get enough credit for what he does too,”Hooker said about the Dallas Cowboys starting QB.
“Because I feel like Dak is a good reason why the offense is successful. Not just how he throws the ball, the way he studies. Dak is very smart. A lot of the stuff he does is how he studies, yeah he’s gifted and all, but Dak is a very smart player. The way he goes about his business like Dak doesn’t bother nobody.
And just the stuff he’s been through as a leader, you know losing his mom, losing his brother stuff like that and to still be able to come out there and lead these guys are going through these trials and tribulations, that’s a hard thing to do. I can honestly speak for myself. I’ve been dealt with having to go out there and play while dealing with a death, you don’t feel your best. You really don’t even feel like playing so as quarterback, you got no choice ,you got no choice. He’s going out there and high level you know so I got high praise for Dak too.”
To answer the question, Hooker made it clear he believes the Dallas Cowboys should focus on paying CeeDee Lamb ASAP, then Prescott, and finally Micah Parsons who the defensive back noted was the youngest of the three.
“So I’d say CeeDee, I’d probably put Dak second, and Micah gotta wait he’s still a young dog.”
It will be interesting to see how Jerry and Stephen Jones navigate these three contracts and if they can find a way to keep all three star players beyond 2024.
