The Cowboys “absolutely” want to sign Dak Prescott to a long-term deal, executive vice president Stephen Jones told beat reporters Tuesday.
“Our whole thing with Dak is him being a Cowboy,” Jones said, via TheAthletic.com. “That’s all that’s on our mind.”
Prescott is scheduled to count $59.4 million against the salary cap for 2024 in the final year of his contract. The Cowboys could do a simple restructuring that would give them $18.52 million in cap relief for this season, but it would push money to 2025 and 2026 with Prescott counting nearly $55 million against the cap in 2025 even if he played elsewhere.
The Cowboys, though, say they are committed to Prescott long term and want to sign him to a long-term deal.
“We got ways to adjust his cap number for this season,” Jones said of Prescott. “Obviously between Dak and Micah [Parsons] and CeeDee [Lamb], the salary cap is real for us. We want to do deals with all three of them. Do you get to do everything you want to do with the salary cap? I don’t think any team does. But we’re certainly going to be able to go out and go to work and get the things done that we feel like we need to get done to be successful.”
Parsons is eligible for a new contract after three Pro Bowl seasons, and Lamb is scheduled to play 2024 under the $19.7 million, fifth-year option.
Prescott’s deal needs to get done first to make room for other moves by the Cowboys.
Prescott, 30, finished as the MVP runner-up to Lamar Jackson last season in passing for 4,516 yards with 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions. The Cowboys went 12-5, but they lost in the wild-card round again.
While he is 73-41 in eight seasons, Prescott is only 2-5 in five playoff appearances. The team has not made the NFC Championship Game since 1995.
The Cowboys, though, still have faith that Prescott is the one to get them back to where they haven’t seen in almost three decades.
