Jalen Hurts deal another reason why Dak Prescott is getting extended by Dallas Cowboys

Whether you like it or not — and a good segment of Dallas Cowboys nation are seemingly firmly against it — quarterback Dak Prescott is going to get a new contract.

It’s coming sooner or later.

But it’s coming.

It’s what the Cowboys want to do and it’s what they need to do from a salary cap management standpoint.

Prescott is heading into the third year of a four-year, $160 million contract he signed in 2021.

With a $59 million cap hit looming for the final year 2024, revisiting the deal was always part of the plan.

In just the last few months, vice president Stephen Jones has said Prescott will be the Cowboys quarterback for the next 10 years and owner Jerry Jones has said it’s equally important that the team get an extension done to reduce his salary cap number to help build the team.

And another reason showed up on Monday when the Philadelphia Eagles announced a five-year, $255 million contract extension for quarterback Jalen Hurts, giving him the richest deal in new money in NFL history with an annual rate of $51 million.

The $179 million in guaranteed money for Hurts is the second most in NFL history.

But the devil is in the details on the Hurts deal, as he has caps hits of $6.15 million in 2023, $13.56 million in 2024, $21.77 million in 2025 and $31.77 million in 2026, which allows the Eagles to be flexible to re-sign and add players in order to keep a strong team around him.

The latter is what interests the Cowboys most in extending Prescott, especially with that looming $59 million cap hit coming in 2024.

It’s an issue they must address.

There are those who think the Cowboys should simply stand pat and make Prescott, who has just two playoff wins and is coming off a league-high 15 interceptions, lead them to the NFC championship game or Super Bowl before they do the deal — with the doomsday option of cutting ties if he doesn’t in 2023.

But understand that moving away from Prescott puts the team in salary cap hell with $61 million in dead money for 2024 and no quarterback of the future to count on.

The latter is not even a consideration for the Cowboys.

This is not my opinion. Those are their words.

“Dak is going to be our guy for, hopefully, the next 10 years,” Stephen Jones said in February. “You say, ‘that’s a long time’ because he’s already played six of seven. But I think Dak will play that long because he takes care of himself and he’s driven to be great and we fully expect him to be here for 10 years.”

Jones added: “I want to make sure I’m clear about that. Dak’s going to be our guy over and over again just like Troy [Aikman] was, just like [Tony] Romo was, like [Roger] Staubach was.”

Hall of Famers Aikman and Staubach led the Cowboys to five Super Bowl titles.

Romo never won a title but he finished as he team’s all-time leading passer was the unquestioned franchise quarterback from 2006 to when Prescott supplanted him 2016.

Certainly, Prescott must eliminate the mistakes that led to him leading the NFL with 15 interception in 2022 despite missing five games.

The decision to move on from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and have head coach Mike McCarthy call plays following the season-ending loss to San Francisco 49ers in the divisional playoffs was made to help Prescott become a more efficient performer.

The Cowboys do not plan to start over at quarterback.

“I’m very strong on Dak,” Jerry Jones also said in February. “We have, in my mind, a unique person, a unique football player, a unique quarterback. This whole thing reflects the upside that I feel in Dak. The fact that we’re doing this, Mike’s calling the plays, this has everything to do with the positives around Dak. It’s building around Dak.

“I think this is a plus for Dak. And if it’s a plus for Dak, it’s a plus for all of us.”

What’s also true is that 2022 was more of an outlier than the norm for Prescott, who is just one season removed from arguably the most efficient season in franchise history when he passed for a team-record 37 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions in 2021.

His 97.8 career-quarterback rating is a franchise best and ranks eighth in NFL history.

That Prescott has just two playoffs wins as Cowboys quarterback and the team has not come close to sniffing the NFC title game or the Super Bowl in his tenure, extending the gap to 27 years since their last title in 1995, remains a problem.

But that drought predates him and has a long list of accomplices, including Romo and led by owner Jerry Jones.

The Cowboys know they have been a perennial playoff contender with a healthy Prescott in the lineup, reaching the postseason in four of the six years he has started more than five games, including three division titles.

So, while no talks have occurred as of yet, an extension is coming.

When?

On that, the Cowboys hope to copy the Eagles and Hurt’s superstar agent Nicole Lynn by doing their negotiating in silence and then making the big announcement together.

“Those are things that hopefully won’t become front and center,” Stephen Jones said last month when asked about if any progress was being made on a new deal for Prescott. “You wake up one day and they’re done.”