The Dallas Cowboys were rolling again in the 2023 regular season with Dak Prescott — but yet again, with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run — Dak an the Cowboys lost when it mattered the most.
Last year truly felt different.
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He entered the 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.
Now with no deal in place and both sides going public with a “mutual understanding” they will let Prescott play out the final year of his contract, truly anything is possible.
While it’s likely the Cowboys ride with Prescott for at least one final season, it’s not out of the realm of possibility Dallas decides to trade its franchise QB ahead of the 2024 campaign if there’s a deal that makes sense.
Dallas Cowboys Trade Dak Prescott To Las Vegas Raiders For Gardner Minshew And Four Draft Picks In New Proposal
Prescott is entering the final year of his contract without an extension in place. With that in mind, a proposed trade would see the Cowboys flip Prescott to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for four draft picks and quarterback Gardner Minshew.
The proposed trade has been brought up by FS1’s Craig Carton with an unverifiable rumor.
“There’s smoke in the air out of Dallas,” says Carton. “There are starting to be rumors down there on Dallas sports talk radio that Dak Prescott is going to be traded. And the storyline, and I want to be clear, it’s unconfirmed, there are talks that the Dallas Cowboys and the Las Vegas Raiders have had some conversations in which the Raiders would send four picks and maybe Gardner Minshew to Dallas to get the expiring contract of Dak Prescott.”
This scenario would obviously see the Dallas Cowboys trade Prescott — and get something in return — before he potentially leaves in free agency next offseason. In exchange, they would acquire Minshew, who is actually coming off a Pro Bowl year as the starter for the Indianapolis Colts. Minshew threw for 15 touchdowns and ran for three touchdowns against nine interceptions while posting a 7-6 record as starter. The 27-year-old quarterback came within a win of leading the Colts to the playoffs.
While Carton doesn’t mention the exact draft picks involved, it’s safe to assume at least one of them would be a high enough draft pick to select a potential franchise quarterback. In this scenario, the Cowboys would acquire a veteran placeholder at quarterback capable of starting for the short term while also adding a future franchise quarterback in the process.