What’s Next for the Dallas Cowboys and Dak Prescott?

With the loss of star quarterback Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys will need to look for some answers.

The Dallas Cowboys might have come away with a win against the New York Giants, but they lost quarterback Dak Prescott in the process and now must find their new identity.

The Dallas Cowboys and their offense has been one of the best in the NFL as quarterback Dak Prescott has been playing out of his mind as of late in order to make up for the unlimited mistakes their defense continues to make. Their defense has been so problematic that they made the New York Giants look like a solid team in their Week 5 matchup on Sunday afternoon.

Originally down 14-3 late in the first half, the Dallas Cowboys could not find anything to get their team going as they were down to a team that was 0-4 on the 2020 season. Though the Cowboys were able to fight back and come away with a win against the miserable Giants football team, they lost the most valuable player to their team in 2020.

When the broadcast crew originally showed quarterback Dak Prescott on the ground, it appeared as though he had injured his calf based on the way he was grabbing it.

It was until a different angle showed the horrific ankle injury that Dak Prescott had suffered when Giants CB Logan Ryan rolled over his leg while tackling the quarterback during a scramble. At the conclusion of the game, it was revealed that Prescott had suffered a compound fracture in his right ankle and had gone straight to the hospital for surgical repair which was announced to be a successful procedure.

However, the surgery will result in the 25-year old missing the remainder of the 2020 NFL season. Whilst being carted off of the field, Dak gave America a wave of gratitude while holding back tears in an emotional departure for his teammates and supporters.

In regards to the two parties, both have to make difficult long-term decisions. For Dak Prescott moving forward, it is to be expected that he has one of two options at the end of this year’s campaign: He can either sign to another franchise tag with the Dallas Cowboys and remain with the team for another year to prove he deserves a massive deal, or he will walk in free agency and play for another team in the 2021 season.

For the Cowboys, on the other hand, they currently have no other option but to rely on former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to carry this team to the playoffs. Yes, even though Dallas lost their franchise quarterback, they are still expected to make the playoffs due to their unbelievable firepower on offense.

It seems as though Jerry Jones’ plan has worked out and he won’t have to make Dak Prescott one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL after all, and will still be able to win games with Andy Dalton.

This brutal situation is comparable to the 2018 NFL season for the Seattle Seahawks and FS Earl Thomas III as the long-time superstar defender wanted a big contract extension, but the team elected to wait and see what kind of year he would have.

In the first few weeks, Thomas, as Prescott has been, was on pace to have a career year after recording three interceptions and four passes defended in just three games. It was until the free safety suffered a fractured left leg in a freak accident in a Week 4 matchup where he saw that his tenure with the Seahawks would come to an end and the team was criticized for appearing as though they were waiting for something like this to happen.

While being carted off the field, the 3-time All-Pro safety was seen flipping off the Seahawks bench as the team refused to re-sign him, and the two parties split in the offseason.

When you look at the contexts of both incidents, they’re nearly identical as both teams refuse to pay a player what he’s worth and wait for something to happen where the front office can say “I told you so”. This is the situation that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was waiting for.

Obviously, Jones didn’t want Prescott to get injured, but he’s definitely not too upset about not having to pay him $40+ million at the end of the year. Jones went after Andy Dalton in free agency because he wanted to show that everyone is replaceable, and Jones was giddy when he saw that the team was able to come back and win without Prescott on Sunday.

It’s a heartless move by the front office, and many can agree that Dak Prescott deserves better than this, as he’s proved week-in, week-out that he deserves to be paid like an elite quarterback in the NFL.

Prescott shouldn’t have to throw for 500-plus yards a game to prove that he’s the franchise quarterback. This is bad optics for the Cowboys brass, and Dak would have been well within his rights to react just as Earl Thomas did.

The Dallas Cowboys with Andy Dalton under center can continue to be a top-scoring team in the NFL, but the team will likely lose Prescott in the offseason as he has all of the motivation in the world to refuse to sign the insulting low contract extension that will be offered to him and prove to Jerry Jones that his ego got the best of him here.