The Cowboys propose trading Dak Prescott for an 18-TD Pro Bowl quarterback

The Cowboys might think about dealing Dak Prescott.

When it comes to Dak Prescott, the Dallas Cowboys might pull off an unexpected victory.

Without a signed contract extension, Prescott is approaching the last year of his current deal. In light of this, the Dallas Cowboys have proposed trading quarterback Gardner Minshew and four draft picks to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for Prescott.

Craig Carton of FS1 brought up the prospective deal with an unsubstantiated rumor.

Carton remarks, “There’s smoke in the air out of Dallas.” On Dallas sports talk radio, there are some whispers that Dak Prescott is likely to be traded. And the plot—to be clear, unconfirmed—talks of the Las Vegas Raiders and Dallas Cowboys having conversations in which the Raiders would transfer four choices and possibly Gardner Minshew to Dallas in exchange for Dak Prescott’s contract, which is about to expire.

Reasons for the Cowboys to Think About Trading Dak Prescott

In this case, Prescott would undoubtedly be traded by the Cowboys and receive something in exchange before he could sign a free agent contract the following year. They would receive Minshew in return, who is actually coming off of a Pro Bowl season as the Indianapolis Colts’ starter. Minshew had a 7-6 record as a starter and ran for three touchdowns against nine interceptions in addition to throwing for fifteen touchdowns. The quarterback, 27, almost missed taking the Colts to the postseason.

Carton doesn’t specify which draft picks are involved, but it’s reasonable to guess that at least one of them would be selected with a high enough pick to choose a possible franchise quarterback. In this scenario, the Cowboys would add a future franchise quarterback in addition to a veteran QB placeholder who can start in the near future.

The NFL would be rocked by the move for obvious reasons. Even though Prescott placed second in the MVP voting the previous season, it’s not inconceivable that the Cowboys may trade for him.

Despite starting for eight seasons in Dallas, the 30-year-old Prescott’s team has never progressed past the divisional round of the playoffs when he was head coach. His estimated value, according to Spotrac, is $50.8 million spread over four years, or more than $203 million, thus his next contract will pay him a lot of money once more.

Cheaper quarterbacks might usher in a new era for the Cowboys.
At that point, Dallas might enter a new era in which they would dramatically reduce the salary of their rookie franchise quarterback. Additionally, they might use the additional funds they saved from the Prescott trade to sign young Pro Bowl players like Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb in the future.

For context, Minshew will receive a roster bonus of $500,000 in addition to his $5.8 million salary this season. In contrast, Prescott’s compensation for this season is $29 million. Prescott would result in a dead cap charge of more than $66 million, so it wouldn’t make sense to trade him before June 1. If you trade him for a dead cap hit of only $26 million after June 1, that scenario becomes much more realistic.

Regarding Prescott’s future in Dallas, we’ll have to wait and see, but it makes sense that a trade involving him would occur prior to the 2024 season commencing.

DJ Siddiqi covers the NFL for Heavy.com, concentrating on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Seattle Seahawks. Prior to joining Heavy, he covered the NFL and NBA for Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, ClutchPoints, Forbes, and 24/7 Sports. Details regarding DJ Siddiqi