The latest Cowboys headlines as the team prepares for the season opener this weekend.
Dak wants to be the QB ‘who wins it’ in Dallas – Nick Harris, DallasCowboys.com
Dak Prescott spoke to the media again today about his contract negotiations and his motivation for wanting to stay in Dallas.
It’s no breaking news or secret that the two sides are working, but is there a sense of urgency behind that work to get it done before the season kicks off?
“I’d say they’re working,” he said. “I don’t know if that’s necessarily the timeline. I can’t say I’ll put a timeline to Todd and Stephen if we don’t get this done, this or that, but I know they’re working.”
Speaking of work, Prescott said he will “still be working” if the Cowboys and his representation can’t come to an agreement before the start of the season. For him, there is still a big goal in mind that applies to this season and any potential campaign past 2024.
“That’s what motivates me on being here, honestly, to be the quarterback who does it,” Prescott said. “Who wins it. I don’t think winning it in any other place would be the same as winning it here. That is A-No. 1 in wanting to be here, to be honest with you.”
There’s a sense of camaraderie within the locker room going into this pivotal season towards the franchise’s future direction, as Prescott isn’t the only one heading into a contract year. Whether it be veterans like Zack Martin, DeMarcus Lawrence and Brandin Cooks or role players like Osa Odighizuwa and Jourdan Lewis, a large handful of players can put themselves in Prescott’s shoes from an expiring contract standpoint.
If Dak Prescott reaches free agency, that’s a problem for the Cowboys – Ted Nguyen, The Athletic
The Cowboys could find themselves in a bind if they are unable to strike a new deal with Dak Prescott.
Ideally, the Cowboys would have extended Prescott this offseason but owner and general manager Jerry Jones would have to be willing to reset the market because Prescott has all the leverage. Prescott knows if he doesn’t sign this season, he’ll likely be the highest-paid player in the league after free agency next season.
“There’s no way I would sign a deal if I were Prescott unless it’s crazy,” a former general manager told The Athletic. “So I would only ask for crazy to see where it goes.”
According to a league source, if a deal gets done soon, it should be somewhere around four years, $240 million, putting him at $60 million per year. Joe Burrow, Jordan Love and Trevor Lawrence all got contracts that average $55 million per year. Of course, we can’t know what Prescott is asking for exactly but with how quarterback deals have trended and with what he knows he’ll be able to get when teams bid for his services next season, it’s not unreasonable to ask for $60 million or more. Prescott would likely get $63 million to $65 million per year in the open market, especially since there’s a good chance the salary cap will increase again next offseason, but maybe he’d be happy staying in Dallas for $60 million if the deal gets done soon.
It’s also somewhat understandable that Jones is unwilling to reset the market by that much. But what other choice does he have? He doesn’t have another viable starting quarterback on the roster. Maybe he tried to create some leverage by trading a fourth-round pick for Trey Lance last offseason, and although Lance showed some promise this preseason, he also showed he’s still not ready to be a starter in this league, throwing five interceptions against the Chargers in the preseason finale.
Cowboys’ theme of the season? Mike McCarthy says Dallas will be ‘rooted’ in 2024 – Chris Amaya, Dallas Morning News
Mike McCarthy explains the theme for his fifth season as the head coach in Dallas.
The Cowboys head coach told reporters he introduced players to the newest theme Wednesday morning. He described the phrase “rooted” as being based on the foundation he and the team have built over the last five years. The theme also incorporates an analogy of a bamboo tree that doesn’t grow until its fifth year of watering.
With Year 5 of the McCarthy era kicking off Sunday in Cleveland, the head coach was reminded of some life advice he received from his father.
“My dad gave me some good advice about living your life in five-year increments, and what you can learn in that time of space. Not trying to do too much, too fast, and it was more of a life lesson,” McCarthy said. “So, I think the fifth year of what we’ve done and what we have to build off of is part of the root system that’s in place here.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy sees ‘opportunity’ in lame-duck season – Todd Archer, ESPN
Mike McCarthy is focused only on winning as he enters his final year on his contract as the Cowboys’ head coach.
As McCarthy begins his fifth season as the Cowboys’ coach Sunday at the Cleveland Browns (4:25 p.m. ET, Fox), this is the noise that surrounds him as he enters the last year of his contract. Each week will be a referendum on his future.
“I’m thankful and appreciate the opportunity in front of me,” McCarthy said to start this week. “That’s really how it’s been. I get what goes with contracts and I really don’t want to speak on it, because I haven’t spoke on it, because there’s really nothing to talk about. It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is today, and that’s really something we can all just stay in touch with because we do have responsibilities outside of winning games, but the only thing that truly pays the bills is winning games.
“That’s where my mind is at. I’m 30-plus years into this. We know how things work. I can’t stand up in front of a group of men and consistently on a daily basis demand that they focus their time and energy on winning, and then I’m up here talking about things that have nothing to do with winning. I guess that’s how I deal with it.”
McCarthy is 41-25 as the Cowboys’ coach. His .627 winning percentage is the best in Cowboys history. He has won two NFC East titles. But — and it’s an important ‘but’ — he has only one playoff win, and last year’s 48-32 debacle of a loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card round at AT&T Stadium remains a fresh memory.
NFL Rookie Says Playing for Notre Dame Prepped Him for Life with Dallas Cowboys – Nick Shepkowski, Sports Illustrated
Rookie Marist Liufau talked about how his college has prepared him for the bright lights in Dallas.
The Cowboys open the 2024 season on Sunday when they travel to take on the Cleveland Browns. Although you won’t find much winning lately in the Browns franchise encyclopedia, the Dawg Pound is often called one of the crazier fan groups in the NFL.
Liufau, who played at Notre Dame from 2019-2023 doesn’t seem too concerened about the NFL atmospheres though, and credits where he went to college.
“You either love Notre Dame or you hate them, so everywhere we go on the road, everyone hates us, ”Liufau told reporters this week. “That’s helped me to grow as a player and kind of handle those environments and sort it out.”
“I really just take every day and treat it like it’s game day,” he said, “so that when I get to the actual environment, it’s really easy.”
Science Lab: Is there such a thing as RB1 for Cowboys in 2024? – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
A break down of what the running back by committee approach will look like this season.
Mike McCarthy’s plan for the rushing attack first began with revamping and upgrading the offensive line with a first-round pick (Tyler Guyton) and a third-round pick (Cooper Beebe), and that has to be noted as what I believe will be the primary reason this year should be different over last year’s struggles — in addition to Elliott coming back to help resolve the short yardage issue that took center stage in the one year he was out of Dallas.
That said, there will be weeks where Elliott will have more touches and/or yards than Dowdle, and there will be weeks when Dowdle has more touches and/or yards than Elliott. There will be weeks when Deuce Vaughn might surprise everyone and be the lead back for a particular game, and though it’s doubtful Hunter Luepke will ever be in that specific conversation, he will see a serious uptick in his touches over his rookie season.
The latter is a foregone conclusion.
And when looking at what the 2023 production of each running back, respective to their situation at the time, it’s not difficult to ascertain why McCarthy continues to hammer home his plan of not handcuffing his offense to a specific RB for his “21-game plan”, but rather letting it happen organically depending on opponent and in-game situation.
