The Dallas Cowboys have a ton of decisions to make as they enter another offseason.

The main choice for Jerry Jones and company will be how to go with Dak Prescott at quarterback and the future of the Cowboys franchise quarterback, even though they must take into account the impending contract extensions for Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb.

When it comes to Prescott, Jones and the Dallas bras essentially have three choices.

According to team insider Mike Fischer, the Dallas Cowboys have three big decisions to make this summer. It’s evident that some supporters are tired of the quarterback.

As SI’s Mike FIscher recently noted, the first is to continue to bank on Prescott  which would likely require making him maybe the highest-paid player in NFL history, maybe at $60 million APY. He’ll be a “Cowboy for Life” on a long-term deal. And Jerry Jones and the fan base will have to live with it.

There next — and mot likely option —is if Jones and company can persuade Prescott to take less, both to help the cap and as a bow to the fact that he’s not “the best player in NFL history. It’s likely the Dallas Cowboys attempt a move like this, but will  Dak Prescott be okay with that knowing what other top QBs are making?

The next option is to cut or trade Prescott after June 1, the timing will help the cap ramifications just a bit. But the $59 million Cowboys QB still would have to be paid. Move on from Prescott and you “save” $34 million and you “gain” about $9 million of room in 2024.

While trading or releasing the Dallas Cowboys QB would free up a little much-needed cap space next season, Jerry Jones would have to be okay losing $25.5 million in dead money in ’24 and another $36.5 million dead in ’25. Not ideal at all but money may not be an issue if he’s made up his mind.

NFL Writer Projects Dallas Cowboys Make Shocking Trade, Swap Dak Prescott for Justin Fields

One possibility that USA Today’s K.D. Drummond described was one in which a long-term extension is not agreed upon by all parties. Prescott might be willing to waive his no-trade provision in this situation if it means he can sign a lucrative new contract somewhere else.

Drummond speculates that the Chicago Bears would consider trading quarterbacks Justin Fields and Prescott for Prescott. In order to make the trade work, according to the NFL analyst, Chicago would need to contribute more, starting with the No. 9 pick.

“Grabbing Fields comes with little risk. His low 2023 salary ($2.3 million between base and roster bonus) is the best-case scenario in absorbing Prescott’s $62 million cap hit from a trade,” Drummond wrote in a January 22, 2024 article titled, “The ‘What If…?’ Mock Draft: Cowboys, Bears swap Dak Prescott for Justin Fields.”

Drummond believes the Dallas Cowboys would keep QB Trey Lance in this scenario, and use their high draft picks to possibly select a rookie QB, or build around Fields.

“They could keep the picks and see if a QB falls to them, trade up for a top QB, or stay put and grab players at other positions and roll with the two youngsters. Dallas would now have both Justin Fields and Lance under control for two seasons, and neither fifth-year option has to be enacted until after the draft, where Dallas now has the No. 9 and the No. 24 pick. The amount of options that gives Dallas is innumerable.”

Here’s where it gets tricky since there is a real-life situation in which Fields is released by the Bears. However, Chicago would probably choose to take a younger, less expensive quarterback with one of its two top-10 picks—including the No. 1 choice.

Pro Football Focus gave Fields a 74.6 for his performance this year. In contrast, Prescott received an exceptional 90.8 rating from PFF in 2023.

Cowboys supporters will be the first to point out that this is not the whole story. Not how the two play throughout the regular season, but the lack of postseason success has been the issue with Prescott and McCarthy together. Fields’ status in the NFL playoffs is far more murky.

With his legs, Justin Fields is a greater threat. In 13 games this season, he has amassed 657 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. Fields had just finished 2022 with a career-high 1,143 running yards and 8 touchdowns. This season, Fields also passed for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions.

Though it’s entertaining to speculate, nothing with the Dallas Cowboys is certain, so it’s difficult to imagine them parting ways with Dak Prescott. A long-term contract is the most likely outcome.

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