The Dallas Cowboys have a monumental offseason ahead with so many potentially franchise-changing moves to make.
Owner Jerry Jones has made it clear the Cowboys are going “all-in” for 2024 and decided to retain Mike McCarthy for one more season to see if he can get the talented roster past the first round in the playoffs and possibly reach the Super Bowl expectations Jones expects.
After a fantastic regular season where Dallas won the NFC East with a (12-5) record which gave them home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs, the Cowboys were dominated by a young, surging Green Bay Packers team.
Suddenly one of the league’s top defenses couldn’t stop the run and allowed first-year starting QB Jordan Love to look like Patrick Mahomes, while Dak Prescott and the offense sputtered which was rare for 2023.
Because of his track record, Cowboys fans are accustomed to blaming Dak Prescott, who hasn’t been able to get the hump in the postseason since taking over as the team’s franchise QB.
There was even a portion of the fan base who wanted the team to move on from Prescott and attempt to plug in Trey Lance, the former first-round selection who the 49ers traded a fortune to move up and select.
Ultimately Lance never worked out in San Francisco but they got lucky hitting on Brock Purdy. Last season he was the third-string QB for the Dallas Cowboys.
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered the 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.
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).
Jerry Jones has made it abundantly clear the Cowboys plan to stick with Prescott as their franchise starter and he’s expected to become one of the highest players in the NFL with a new contract that could happen anytime between now and training camp.
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.
Now, the Cowboys will enter 2024 with more pressure than ever, from head coach to the QB. Prescott his expected to get a record-breaking extension and Lamb is up for one soon too, but nothing will matter if the team can’t find a way to win in big moments.
Dallas Cowboys Give QB Trey Lance Roster Bonus, Will Keep Him Through 2024 As Possible Dak Prescott Backup
Quarterback Trey Lance will remain with the Dallas Cowboys in 2024 and will receive a $4.25 million roster bonus, per the Dallas Morning News‘ Calvin Watkins.
The roster bonus will give Lance $5.31 million in total compensation for the 2024 season. According to Watkins, Dallas did not consider cutting Lance after he made “tremendous strides” last year.
The Dallas Cowboys won’t, however, pick up Trey Lance’s $22.4 million fifth-year option for the 2025 season, Watkins reported, but it’s interesting to see if this may be a contingency plan if things go South for Prescott.
Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 NFL draft, has played in just eight games in his career. In six games as a rookie, he had 603 passing yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. He played in just two games in 2022, recording 194 passing yards before suffering an ankle injury that kept him out the rest of the season.
Lance is entering the third season of a four-year, $34.1 million contract that he signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 2022.
Trey Lance was traded to the Dallas Cowboys ahead of the 2024 season in exchange for a fourth-round pick amid Brock Purdy’s rise in San Francisco. He is the No. 3 quarterback on the Cowboys behind Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush, but it seems
Dallas is confident in his ability to compete with Rush as the No. 2 next year.
According to Watkins, head coach Mike McCarthy’s goal is to keep three quarterbacks on the roster, with the third-string quarterback playing in a developmental role, which could be perfect for Lance as he tries to shake off the slow start to his career.
