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Cowboys Must Trade Dak Prescott? How? Why?

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Fisher | Last updated Nov 18, 2024 11:07 AM ET

FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys have made their bed with Dak Prescott, and now even the harshest critics must sleep in it.

Prescott recently underwent season-ending surgery to repair his torn hamstring. That unfortunate 2024 outcome comes on the heels of Prescott and the Cowboys having agreed to a four-year, $240 million extension, including an $80 million signing bonus.

Some critics didn't love the deal when it was done in September, and we get that; Dak's resume on the field - even after finishing second in the MVP race last year - does not completely match up with him becoming the highest-paid player in NFL history.

Some of those same critics love the deal even less now that Prescott isn't playing; that's an unfair and emotion-driven second-guess, but we get that as well.

That lack of love has caused smart Cowboys watchers to wonder if there is what we call an "escape clause'' built into this contract. And it's caused ignorant Cowboys watchers to offer up impractical and uninformed answers.

Speaking of "ignorant Cowboys watchers'' ... meet Shady McCoy and the panel of "experts'' on FS1.

Immediately after Prescott tore him hamstring two weeks ago, FS1's panel irresponsibly "reported'' that Dak was faking the the injury and is a "quitter.'' With that damage done, FS1 is trying another angle.

"I think the Cowboys should trade Dak," said McCoy, the dunderheaded former NFL running back. "Trade Dak, go out there, go to Colorado, get this quarterback named Shedeur Sanders.''

The Sanders argument is one for another day; there is precedent for a team with an established older QB drafting his heir and making the new guy sit and wait for a couple of years. We do not think that is Dallas' plan at all. But it is at least a legit discussion point.

But "the Cowboys should trade Dak''? Is that legit? Nope. In fact, it's so off-base that we wonder how some producer or director or cameraman or somebody at FS1 doesn't intercede in order to keep McCoy and his guys from looking so stupid.

Here's the short version of the reality: If Dallas were for whatever reason to trade him before June 1, it would eat $90 million in dead money. Same if he's cut. Same if he retires. If Dallas trades him after June 1, there is cap relief, but the Cowboys would get no 2025 picks for doing do. (Also, Dak has veto power on any trade, so he'd have to approve it.)

Also a factor: The Cowboys have already written the $80 mil signing bonus check ... so in term of both cap and cash, Jerry Jones and company would be making an idiotic move to dump him.

Is there an eventual "escape hatch''? The Cowboys helped invent this concept and it is now standard practice: Going into 2027, the dead money is down to $17 mil and the cap savings is $45. So ... Dallas in the spring of 2027 would gain $28 mil of overall room if the club decides that it's done with Dak at age 34.

Know that McCoy at the start of the 2024 season announced that "Dak is (expletive)'' on the way to Prescott finishing second in MVP voting. And know that McCoy and his FS1 panel obviously have no clue as to any of the facts and are instead driven to "report'' based on something else McCoy said of trading Dak and drafting Sanders.

"Bro, that would have the NFL in an uproar. That would be the best for the ratings ...''

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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