Dallas Cowboy quarterback Dak Prescott is currently set to make a total of $1.3 million over the course of the next two seasons. The third-year pro will be an unrestricted free agent in 2020 and will look to cash in on a new deal. The NFL’s current top paid quarterbacks headed into the 2018 season are Jimmy Garoppolo, Matthew Stafford, Derek Carr and Joe Flacco. All four starters are expected to make more than $25 million this season. According to ESPN’s “2018 NFL QB tiers rankings,” Stafford is #7, Carr is #12, Jimmy G sits at #13 with Flacco falling 5 spots behind Prescott at #23.
You don’t find an elite QB on the highest-paid QB lists till number 6, Drew Brees, who is set to make $24 million this season. Russell Wilson is at 8 and Ben Roethlisberger is at 9 with Eli Manning rounding it off at 10. The numbers certainly does not help the Cowboys when they do begin negotiating with Prescott as elite QB’s are scattered around with the majority of tier 2 and 3 quarterbacks topping the list. But what the Cowboys cannot do is continue the trend of paying top dollars for players who have yet to win.
For the majority of the 2018 off-season, followers of the Cowboys have been drilled with the notion the team is trying to become more “Dak friendly”. They have their all-pro running back in Ezekiel Elliot fully engaged. They have paid four of their five projected offensive linemen top dollar and invested a premium pick in Connor Williams. Though many question this wide receiver group the passing game still should be enough to compliment a strong ground game. So the tools are in place for a good quarterback to succeed. Emphasis on “good quarterback,” which is what Prescott has shown he can be.
When a team invest large money into the quarterback position that are in a sense saying “we expect you to lead us where we need to go.” But that is not Prescott’s role here. There is constant resistance towards those who continuously compare Prescott and Tony Romo, but that is exactly what Romo was expected to do. He was the force that drove the offense and even when the running game was at it’s peak the Cowboys chose the offensive line over Demarco Murray.
The offensive line is still the strongest unit on this team. So they will be a constant here going forward. Ezekiel Elliot is a top 3-5 running back, so it is almost inevitable he will be taken care of. Prescott borders around the Alex Smith area. And for as much slack as Smith gets he plays his role nicely. There is nothing wrong with Prescott being that same style of quarterback for this team. The running game is sure to improve. The defense was in the top-half of the league in points allowed and total yards allowed. And they’re still improving. Prescott has enough talent to be the captain of this ship, but there are several other pieces on this team that are paid to be the motor.
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