Stephen Jones Backtracks on Dak Prescott Extension Talk

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Dak Prescott

Slow your roll, said the son to his father.

Maybe not in those exact words, but Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones walked back owner Jerry Jones’ claim that an extension is “imminent” for franchise quarterback Dak Prescott.

“(Jerry) has different meanings for different words. … (Hopefully) we’ll put this in the rearview mirror sooner than later,” Jones clarified Monday, less than 24 hours after his father used that particular word to describe ongoing negotiations.

Like the rest of America, Jerry was enthralled by Prescott’s historic passing day in a 35-17 drubbing of the New York Giants. Perhaps too enthralled. Too pumped up. Too ahead of himself.

“Oh, yes, I do know that we’ll get it done,” Jones said. “It would probably be fair to say it’ll be done on an imminent basis. Imminent. … What’s imminent? Well, days. Days. Or something like that.”

But the reality is, Stephen explained, a few hurdles remain before the sides reach an agreement. These megadeals are mind-numbingly complex and, as Ezekiel Elliott proved, often held up by structure language rather than actual dollars and cents.

“It’s just a matter of finding things as you get closer that are really important to Dak. And obviously we’ll continue to verbalize what’s really important to keep as many of these players as we can on this young football team and he understands and appreciates that,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “At the same time, he’s got really good representation and they’re also wanting to make sure someone’s really looking out for Dak and they’re doing a great job of that. We’ll just continue to progress.”

In a man-amongst-boys outing — the best of his four-year career — Prescott completed 25-of-32 passes for 405 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions, finishing with a perfect 158.3 rating against an overwhelmed Giants defense. He surpassed Troy Aikman to set a new franchise record for most passing yards in a Week 1 contest.

There’s some debate about whether Prescott deserves Jared Goff money ($110 million guaranteed). Based on these four quarters, it’s no longer disputable. He’s about to get paid, and his price tag is only skyrocketing.