The Dallas Cowboys are facing a dilemma with Dak Prescott, one that is similar to one Steelers fans know all too well.
Prescott’s contract expires after next season, making him a potential free agent. On one hand, Prescott has put up quality numbers through most of his career. He led the league in touchdown passes and completions last season and posted a career-best passer rating.
On the other hand, Prescott has been the Cowboys’ starter for the last eight seasons, leading them to a grand total of two playoff wins, both of which came in the Wild Card Round. And it’s not like Prescott hasn’t had help, as the rest of the roster around him has been filled with quality talent, yet the team just can’t win.
So, the team is at a crossroads right now. Should they draft a guy to begin developing, with the intention of him eventually taking over for Prescott? Or should they use that draft capital to help Prescott while he is still on the roster?
Colin Cowherd talked about this dilemma today on The Herd and presented two historical examples of teams dealing with it.
“The best current quarterback organization in the league, the Green Bay Packers, did it with Aaron [Rodgers], and they did it with Jordan Love. They drafted them and sat them for three years. They actually had a plan. Doesn’t it feel like Dallas really doesn’t?” Cowherd questioned. “You could be the Pittsburgh Steelers who coddled Big Ben and then by the time he decided to go, they only had Mason Rudolph, a backup, on the roster. Then they had to reach in a weak quarterback class for Kenny Pickett, who they’ve now moved off of. What do you want to be? The Packers or the Steelers?”
While the Steelers didn’t fully plan for a post-Roethlisberger world, they did spend a third-round pick on Mason Rudolph in the 2018 draft, a move that Roethlisberger was not happy about. And if Dallas wants to keep Prescott beyond this year, or even keep him happy this year, they need to consider the potential fallout of drafting someone like Bo Nix at number 24.
But you also have to consider the consequences of not drafting someone, as a mistake from inaction is often worse than a mistake from action. The Steelers are the perfect example of this. They were never going to be bad enough to get a top-three or top-five pick and grab a franchise-level prospect, but there was no other great way to grab a quarterback. They had to settle for Pickett, who probably could have used more development behind a veteran, and it didn’t turn out well.
Dallas is damned if they do, damned if they don’t. Is Prescott good enough to win a Super Bowl with? Probably not at this point in his career, and with their roster construction slowly declining due to his huge contract. But what can you do? Let him walk for nothing? Probably not going to go over well in Dallas. Grab his replacement this year in the draft? Probably not going to go over well with Dak. It’s a maddening situation all too familiar to fans of the Cowboys and Steelers alike.
