Dallas Cowboys Could Make Run At $118 Million, Former Pro Bowl QB
The Dallas Cowboys have several question marks surrounding their plan at the quarterback position for the future.
The Cowboys were rolling again in the 2023 regular season with Dak Prescott — but yet again, with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run — Dak an the Cowboys lost when it mattered the most.
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He entered the playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
After another disappointing early exit in the playoffs, the Dallas brass entered the offseason with more question marks than answers.
While it’s expected Jerry Jones and company keep Prescott for at least 2024, it’s clear the organization is looking at all options now that the Cowboys have made it public they don’t plan to give their franchise QB a contract extension. Instead, Jones said there’s a mutual agreement for Prescott to play on the final year of his deal, an unexpected and strange move for an organization that needed to free up cap space to add new talent.
Dallas Cowboys Projected To Sign Veteran QB Ryan Tannehill
With Prescott’s future up in the air and the team making almost no moves so far in free agency, DallasCowboys.com’s Patrik Walker pitched former Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill as a potential option to join the QB rom at The Star,
The former Pro Bowler remains a free agent and given the latest news on Prescott, this idea is worth revisiting. Here is what Walker outlined about Tannehill in a February 13, 2024 story titled, “Open Market: Intriguing Free Agent QBs for Cowboys.”
“At first glance, I felt this one might be a bit of a reach but then I considered the fact Tanehill will be 36 years old this coming season and I do believe his days as a starter are now behind him,” Walker wrote. “That doesn’t mean he’s incapable of being a worth backup, though, and that’s why I’ve put him atop this list.
A look at Tannehill might be worth it in the realm of possibly being a potential upgrade to Rush, while also providing insurance in the event Lance doesn’t progress the way the Dallas Cowboys would like to see as they ramp up work on their developmental QB program. The fact I’m intrigued by this at all means there might be something there to consider.”
Tannehill would bring an impressive resume to the Dallas Cowboys as a former Pro Bowler with 151 career starts. The veteran remains without a home in free agency after completing a four-year, $118 million deal with the Titans. Spotrac projects Tannehill’s market value to be a reasonable one-year, $4.9 million contract.
Tannehill’s best statistical season came in 2020 when the quarterback threw for 3,819 yards, 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions while completing 65.5% of his passes. The veteran added 266 rushing yards and 7 TDs on the ground in 2020.
It’s clear he would be a reliable backup for the Dallas Cowboys in 2024 — and if the organization does in fact move on from Prescott at any point — he could be a bridge QB until they find an answer for the future.
