Arguably the three most vital players to the Dallas Cowboys’ success — quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Micah Parsons — have looming contract situations. Prescott is only under contract through the end of next season, while Lamb and Parsons — Dallas’s first-round draft picks in 2020 and 2021, respectively — are eligible for extensions on their rookie contracts.
But team owner and general manager Jerry Jones is not publicly panicking about the lack of traction on extension talks with the trio.
Speaking at the team’s pre-NFL Draft press conference Tuesday, Jones preached “timing” and insisted to reporters that he’s “not ready to go” on new deals with his stars.
“You may be working on [contracts] and not moving anything but your eyebrows,” Jones said, according to ESPN. “Who in the world would think that we’re not working on it? I work on it. It pops up at 2 in the morning sometimes. What you’re actually questioning is ‘why don’t you have something done and negotiated and put in the drawer?’ Well, we’d like to see some more leaves fall. We’d like to see some more action.”
Jones also provided context as to why Prescott and the Cowboys are unlikely to agree to an extension before the 2024 season and are instead content to let Prescott play out the final year of his deal, which is uncommon for quarterbacks of the three-time Pro Bowler’s caliber.
“Dak has enjoyed, in his career that we’re proud of, some of the best supporting casts that you could put around him,” Jones said. “To move forward, we will have to diminish that. That’s a fact. That’s the rules. That’s our challenge and to make it work out. Dak as the quarterback [of the] Cowboys, I don’t even have a blink on that one.”
Last season, Prescott totaled 4,516 passing yards, an NFL-high 36 passing touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 105.9 passer rating, while completing 69.5% of his passes. His passer rating and completion percentage were career bests and he seemed poised to lead the Cowboys on a deep playoff run. But Dallas was upset at home by the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round, dropping the Cowboys to 2-5 in the postseason with Prescott under center.
Prescott recently expressed that he’s not seeking to become the “highest paid” quarterback in the NFL.
Dak Prescott on contract situation: ‘Not trying to be the highest paid necessarily’
As for Prescott’s younger star teammates, Lamb is entering the final year of his rookie deal and is coming off a season that saw him total a league-high 135 receptions for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns, breaking Michael Irvin’s Cowboys receiving yards record. A three-time Pro Bowler, Lamb has totaled 100-plus receptions in each of the past two seasons and 1,100-plus receiving yards in each of the past three seasons. The receiver recently expressed that he’ll “absolutely” be in Dallas to start next season amid rumors that he may hold out for a new deal.
Meanwhile, Parsons is also now extension-eligible. A two-time All-Pro and three-time Bowler, Parsons has totaled 13-plus sacks in each of his three seasons in the NFL and has become the face of a vaunted Dallas defense that has finished fifth in the sport in opponent points per game in each of the past two seasons.
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Dak Prescott
CeeDee Lamb
Micah Parsons
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