Getty Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones throws up a thumbs up before an NFL game.
Dallas Cowboys star Dak Prescott is among the quarterbacks on the “hot seat” heading into next season, according to Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay. The list has Prescott at No. 2 just behind the Patriots’ Mac Jones among the five “hot seat” quarterbacks for 2023. Prescott still has two seasons remaining on a four-year, $160 million contract, but an argument can be made that the pressure is mounting on the team’s QB1 after throwing a career-high 17 interceptions in 2022.
The Cowboys have not only spent the offseason upgrading Prescott’s available weapons with the addition of Brandin Cooks, but the team’s defense has also been boosted with the addition of cornerback Stephon Gilmore. With the defense slated to once again be among the top units in the NFL, Prescott has an opportunity to take the game as it comes.
“Dak Prescott has been entrenched as the Dallas Cowboys’ starting quarterback for the last seven years, but that tenure could be coming to an end if he doesn’t take the team to new heights soon,” Kay wrote on April 4, 2023. “While Dallas has reached the playoffs in four of those seasons, Prescott hasn’t been able to guide the club past the NFC Divisional Round.
“…One poor season could be the difference between the current starter earning another extension or being phased out in the near future.”
Jerry Jones on Dak Prescot: ‘He Needs to Be More Available’
The Cowboys and Prescott have both discussed their desire to eventually agree to a contract extension, but so far things are shaping up for the quarterback to suit up in 2023 without a new deal. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has backed Prescott since the team’s disappointing playoff loss to the 49ers but has also been frank about the quarterback’s recent injury history.
“After all, what we’re trying to do is make Dak more available,” Jones told reporters on March 27. “Which if you look at the last three years, he needs to be more available. And for everything we’re doing and feel good about this offensive line, it should make him more available. And then we’re doing some things [with] the line, some technique and some philosophy that will really help Dak out.”
Dak Prescott: ‘Looking Forward to an Extension’
All signs point to the Cowboys eventually signing Prescott to a long-term contract extension, but if the quarterback has another inconsistent season it will be interesting to see if Dallas has second thoughts. Earlier this offseason, Prescott noted that he does not “expect to play for another team” during his NFL career.
“100% I’m excited, yeah, to be a Dallas Cowboy, as I said. Always dreamed of [being] here, now that I’m here I don’t expect to play for any other team and now it’s just about winning,” Prescott told Dallas Morning News’ Calvin Watkins during a March 7 interview. “So, just trying to get that done and just to hear, obviously as you say, the front office [talk about an extension]. Looking forward to an extension, so when that time comes it will happen. I’m with Stephen [Jones] on it may just happen over night. But when it happens, it happens. It will be great.”