Last week, during a discussion about the Dallas Cowboys’ three major contract negotiations, Stephen Jones revealed the news. Resigning everyone was a “challenge,” according to Jones. In addition, he claimed that in order to re-sign Dak Prescott and maintain a competitive squad, the team was “playing Houdini.”
And even if the club decides to concentrate just on Prescott, it is the root of the issue. Which, given the way they appear to be prioritizing getting CeeDee Lamb, we know they aren’t.
Even before they’ve begun construction on the second tier, this house of cards is already shaky.
Not if they can re-sign all three players, but rather which ones, if any, should they re-sign?
Even before they’ve begun construction on the second tier, this house of cards is already shaky.
Not if they can re-sign all three players, but rather which ones, if any, should they re-sign?
Even before they’ve begun construction on the second tier, this house of cards is already shaky.
Even before they’ve begun construction on the second tier, this house of cards is already shaky.
Not if they can re-sign all three players, but rather which ones, if any, should they re-sign?
Lamb has to be the one they can’t let go of the three. He has shown that he is deserving of the 88 shirt, and things only seem to get better from here.
CeeDee Lamb must be the one to get paid if the Cowboys can only afford to pay one of the three.
Simply place the ball in his hands and move aside.
Lamb may cook for Dallas as long as they have a color-blind person behind center who can throw the ball at least 20 yards beyond the line.
Lamb has to be the one they can’t let go of the three. He has shown that he is deserving of the 88 shirt, and things only seem to get better from here.
CeeDee Lamb must be the one to get paid if the Cowboys can only afford to pay one of the three.
Simply place the ball in his hands and move aside.
Lamb may cook for Dallas as long as they have a color-blind person behind center who can throw the ball at least 20 yards beyond the line.
When that occurs, his front seven teammates need to show up.
Even so, having an all-pro pass rusher is essential. Lamb and Parsons should be able to be re-signed by the Cowboys without going over budget.
That would give them the remaining funds to deal with other roster items.
Prescott was hoping for a $60 million annual contract before Trevor Lawrence was handed the unjustifiable one. Then there was discussion of Jordan Love’s extension, which would shortly eclipse Green Bay’s.
Prescott’s request is reportedly getting close to $70 million.
The Cowboys would be suicidal to accept that contract.
At that price, they couldn’t afford to re-sign Parsons or Lamb. They also wouldn’t have a very competitive squad because their leftover scraps wouldn’t be good enough to get quality players.
Let me just mention that Patrick Mahomes, the man with three Super Bowl rings, will play for $37 million this season.
He just agreed to a contract extension that will pay him an average of $45 million year through the 2031 campaign.
In the NFL, there are eight quarterbacks who earn more than Mahomes. They have yet to win a Super Bowl together. Just three teams have ever advanced to the Super Bowl, and their combined record is 0-3.
It is not their business to be paid more than Mahomes. Dak doesn’t either.
The Remedies
Bringing in Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb would be the best course of action. It would also work if Lamb was only kept.
Resigning At the amount of money Prescott is requesting? Not anything that ought to be done. Not possible.
Kick the can down the road is the only way Dallas can keep all three. That strategy is what led the Cowboys to where they are now, as Charles Haley recently noted.
stuck in salary cap hell with no way out.
Going scorched earth is the worst conceivable solution—one that the Cowboys would never acknowledge in the public eye.
Give the three a break. But a complete reconstruction is ahead.
Dallas would struggle for two to four years before becoming competitive again as a result of that solution.
Put simply, there isn’t a simple answer to this. And the Cowboys front management only has themselves to blame for the situation.