Getty The Dallas Cowboys continue to be criticized for not signing Dak Prescott to a long-term deal.
Dak Prescott still does not have a long-term contract and ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith is putting the Dallas Cowboys on blast for what he believes is a double standard. During ESPN’s First Take, Smith called out Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for treating Prescott differently than longtime franchise quarterback Tony Romo.
“Here’s what resonates with me, and I said this and I know it makes people uncomfortable,” Smith explained. “I don’t give a damn. It does not matter to me. If this were Tony Romo, would we be having this conversation? Chances are, no. We saw Dak Prescott in 2019, he threw 30 touchdowns, 11 interceptions. He completed better than 65 percent of his passes. The last three years: 67 percent, 65 percent, this year five games in….he was completing 68 percent of his passes. He was flat out ballin’. They were one of the top-three offenses in the league when he was playing… No one has looked Jerry Jones in the face and challenged him, ‘Why?’ If this were Tony Romo, what would you do? Why with this guy? What’s the problem? What’s the alternative? Andy Dalton?”
Here is a look at Smith’s full comments about how he believes the Cowboys are mishandling the situation with their franchise quarterback.
Smith Torched Jones for His Handling of Prescott’s Future: ‘You Ain’t Won in 25 Years’
Smith was just getting started with his criticism, making his point a bit more personal. The ESPN analyst believes the Cowboys owner is being foolish for his worries about the length of Prescott’s contract. It has been widely reported that Prescott is pushing for a four-year contract, while the Cowboys are holding out for a fifth season as part of the deal.
“Let’s get this straight, you’re talking about, ‘Oh my goodness, well, here’s the money’ and Dak Prescott wants to sign a four-year deal,” Smith continued. “You’re 78 years old. You ain’t won in 25 years, a quarter-century. You’re 78, you talking about your own mortality. Time is running out. Okay, at 78 years of age, this man wants to commit to a four-year deal coming into last season and you said, ‘No, we want you for five.’ Really? Really? When are we going to talk about this? Why are we just talking about numbers? There’s something else going on here… It doesn’t make any sense, man.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport Reported the Cowboys Want a Deal Done for Prescott ‘Now’
Jones was vocal in his support for Romo throughout his tenure with the Cowboys. He has also been public in his admiration for Prescott but the quarterback still does not have a contract extension. After Romo retired, Jones admitted he hoped he could build a relationship with Prescott like the one he developed with the former Cowboys quarterback.
“We’ve got a relationship. Closure is not the word. … By the way, I would hope that Dak and I get to have the same kinds of years in the future and I enjoy that with players that we were with the Cowboys 25 years ago,” Jones explained to ESPN in 2017. “I enjoy that today with them. And it doesn’t impact other than to just remind me that in many cases you’re going to know these players for the rest of your life. And you’re going to spend the rest of your life with them. … When you think of that that’s not closure. What that is is just the beginning.”
For what it is worth, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported the Cowboys want a long-term deal done “now” and are not concerned about Prescott’s ankle injury. Until a deal is completed, there is going to be plenty of skepticism about the seriousness of the Cowboys’ plans at quarterback.
“From NFL Now: The best news for #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is that the team is so confident in his rehab that they want to do a long-term deal with him now,” Rapoport tweeted. “Remains to be seen whether it’ll happen.”
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