Maybe instead of going “all in,” as team owner Jerry Jones famously declared, the Dallas Cowboys are attempting to self-sabotage their own season in an effort to save money for a potential Dak Prescott contract deal.
Even if it seems like a strange idea, this is one anonymous NFL executive’s perspective. Mike Sando of The Athletic recently published an article in which three league executives discussed their opinions of the Cowboys offseason. Nevertheless, one sticks out above the others.
A Cowboys offseason source said to The Athletic, “If the guy wants $60 million a year, you know what we are going to do instead?” on Dallas’ perspective. The source remained unidentified. “You’re going to play worse, we’re going to have an average team, and we’ll get you for less money.”
Trying to “do more with less” has become the tagline for the Cowboys this offseason. They have let key contributors from last season’s team, like left tackle Tyron Smith, center Tyler Biadasz, running back Tony Pollard, and others, walk in free agency without bringing in any replacements.
So, yes, the executive is right (about one thing): The Cowboys’ roster has gotten worse this offseason.
However, the Cowboys’ cautious spending isn’t limited to Prescott. Even standout receiver CeeDee Lamb, who had a career year where he set multiple franchise records, could – in the eyes of some worried critics – be a casualty of the team’s newly found tight purse strings. During the NFL Owners’ Meetings, Jones sparked controversy with his remarks, seemingly questioning whether re-signing Lamb would be worth losing out on four or five other players.
Jones even went as far as to utter the phrase “whoever has CeeDee” (meaning, “whichever team employs CeeDee”), which is certainly not something fans want to hear when discussing their top play-maker.
And of course, the Micah Parsons extension sits and waits as well.
But let’s dig into the logic of this anonymous executive and this ridiculous idea: The Cowboys are taking a 12-5 playoff roster and throwing away the chance to win in 2024 … so in spring of 2025, they can talk Dak into signing for, say, $55 million APY instead of $60 million APY
Tanking a season is worth $5 million of cap space? No.
Dak would be more inclined to re-sign for less with a losing Dallas team that he would with a winning Dallas team? No.
We continue to think that the plan inside The Star in Frisco is more likely to be the “blow it up” approach, as our own Mike Fisher has frequently articulated. That is to say, the Cowboys have determined that this team, as it is, isn’t good enough in the long run. Thus, it will get its “all in” opportunity in 2024. A makeover, with or without Prescott, will follow in 2025.
Other NFL teams who would’ve bid on Dak as a 2025 free agent will be scared off because Dallas tanked? No?
