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Increasingly, the possibility of Dak Prescott moving on from the Cowboys after the 2024 NFL season looks at least faintly possible, even if it does not make all that much logical sense. Prescott is heading into the last season of his four-year, $160 million contract, and the team has no commitment to him beyond this season.
It’s not a normal situation, of course. Prescott is owed $55 million this year, and even after that, the Cowboys would not be done paying him. Prescott will have dead money on the Cowboys’ books even if he leaves the team or is traded, to the tune of $40 million. That’s a lot to pay a guy who potentially won’t be playing for you, but kicking the financial can down the road is an NFL tradition that, perhaps, the Cowboys want to end, at least at quarterback.
It’s become a special point for the team given its recent failures in the playoffs. Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but in the playoffs, he has been something of a disaster, throwing 7 interceptions in seven games and logging a 2-5 record.
With that in mind, the USA Today’s Cowboys Wire is speculating on potential replacements for Prescott. And one name is especially interesting: former No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence of the Jaguars.
Trevor Lawrence Has Had Struggles With Jaguars
Lawrence is due for a contract extension himself, coming at a time when he’s beginning to register as a disappointment with the team that drafted him. There’s no doubt that Lawrence is talented, with 4,000 yards in each of his last two seasons, but he failed to make the third-year leap the Jaguars hoped to see out of the guy who was No. 1 overall in 2021.
The Jags were just 8-8 last season, and though Lawrence played through some significant injuries, he threw 14 interceptions and just 21 touchdowns.
Cowboys Wire writer K.D. Drummond sees Lawrence as either a short- or long-term solution at QB:
“The third-year starter couldn’t lead Jacksonville to double-digit wins and regressed from his top-10 MVP campaign of 2022. The Jaguars placed the fifth-year option on him, so he’d have to be put on the trade market in order for the Cowboys to acquire his services, but if the former No. 1 selection doesn’t turn the corner, he could be available for trade if Jacksonville goes another direction in the draft next year, or he could come free in 2026 if Dallas lands a bridge QB if Prescott leaves town.”
Cowboys Projected to Pay Dak Prescott $56 Million
It would likely take a blockbuster to land Lawrence. Certainly, it will take a financial commitment, and if the Cowboys are not willing to commit to Prescott, there would have to be some question about committing to Lawrence.
His fifth-year option is valued at $25.7 million. At Spotrac, Lawrence is projected to earn a six-year, $278 million contract extension. That’s $46 million per year, over a lengthy time period.
Still, it is a relative bargain compared to the site’s Prescott projection, which comes in at four years and $225 million, or $56.25 million per year. Either way, the financial commitment to the position is hefty, but the $10 million difference between Prescott and Lawrence is the difference when it comes to adding a free agent like Derrick Henry or keeping Tyron Smith and Tony Pollard.
Landing Lawrence is a longshot. The Cowboys are still eyeing Trey Lance to take over for Prescott if no new deal is reached. But all options would be on the table, and Lawrence could well become an option in the coming year.
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