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It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with Mbar Garcia, Brian brought us, Patrick Walker and Derek Eagleton.
It is Wednesday, February twenty first, twenty twenty four, Season nineteen, Episode number one thirteen. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We are live from the SWBC Mortgage studios at the Star. Brian continues this hiatus. He's in a holdout. We'll see how that continues. We'll see how that goes here over the next few weeks. Hopefully we can get a deal done and get him back in studio. Just Joe, I really am Just jo so please don't start texting me.
Brian has vacation this week, a well earned vacation, obviously in his role with the radio station. He does baseball and everything else. So it's that one little period he's got before he heads off the spring training next week, and it's all over the place. But Brian will be back in two weeks, not this week, not next week, but the week after that. He'll be back with us and we'll clue him in on all the conversations that
we've been having. Got Patrick Walker and Amber Garcia here with us today, and we will get into some talk on DAK Prescott. I promise, I promise we will get to some DAK Prescott talk. We've got some questions. I never I never promised that. I never promised that. I never promised that in past episodes, I said maybe, if time permits, will get to it this week. I am guaranteeing we will get to some talk on DAK Prescott. But we also have some questions, by the way from fans.
We'll get to that in the third second, maybe second second.
We'll see how it goes.
But I did want to start with some talk on franchise tags. It's interesting because most years he with the Cowboys, it feels like there's some players that are like very well like it's like this is just an expectation.
He's going to be tagged.
That guy's going to be taged, sometimes more than one, and you're like, I don't know who they're going to tag.
This is an interesting year.
Because I think an argument can be made Cowboys don't use the tag at all. I know you wrote an interesting article there, Patrick talking about the franchise tag. Cowboys and all the other teams in the NFL have until March seventh to make their declarations if they want to franchise. Someone looking at the list of free agents, and I'll throw out a couple names here, Tyron Smith, Tony Pollard, Stefan Gilmour, Dorrin's Armstrong, jay Ron Curse, Jonathan Hankins, Tyler Biattish.
Is there any name in that list that you think should or could warrant interest from the Cowboys as far as a franchise tag.
You know, Derek, when I was writing this piece yesterday, when the franchise tag window opened, I really sat with this list, and the more I set with it, the more comfortable I was with understanding that the Cowboys should not.
Be expected to use the tag.
There's no one on this list that warrants that type of fully guaranteed one year money as far as guarantee that they don't leave, because obviously you don't want Stefan Gilmore to leave. If you want him back, you would like Jordan Lewis back. You would like guys like Tyrone Smith back, obviously, Tony Pollart, Ricodoudo. That's a conversation. Durran Somstrong, you would love to have a guy like Dorrin Somstrong
back in the building. But while that's true, it's also true that if you look at these tag amounts as well, what are we talking about. Darrin Somstrong would bring twenty roughly twenty million dollars fully guaranteed. Stefan Gilmore at his age eighteen point eight million dollars projected, fully guaranteed. It just doesn't make sense numbers wise. So again, it doesn't mean that the Cowboys shouldn't try to resign guys like Stefan Gilmore. I want him back in the building, Duran Somstrong.
I want him back in the building. But as far as keeping them here on a franchise tag, no, I say. You go about the negotiation the old fashioned way, and the chips fall where they fall.
Yeah, I absolutely agree with everything you said. Looking at the list, there is no name that would make me want to give them a franchise tag just because the money doesn't make sense for what the player is. And like you, said Patrick. There are definitely players that you would want back on a contract, but not for that amount of money for just one year. You look at players are somewhat younger, and then players are on the older side that it just simply doesn't make sense to
put that kind of money. And it's not the type of player that it's that you wouldn't be able. I don't want to say they're not replaceable or you can replace or you can't bring somebody else that can help you there, but they're not absolutely a thousand percent essential.
And I don't want that to sound bad, but you know, we've seen it with daltwn Schultz at the time where you're like, Okay, we don't really have another tight end that can come in and he's being productive and you have to do it, Tony pollor what's the whole situation where you were trying to figure out what the running back situation was after parting ways with Ezekiel Elliott. So that kind of makes sense as well. And now we're at a point where I don't think anyone right now makes sense.
So let me ask this.
I want to make a and I don't even know if I necessarily believe this but I think it's an argument worth having. Drance Armstrong is a guy that's interesting to me because throughout the time he's been with the Cowboys, he seems to every year get a little bit better. He is at a premium position as a pass rusher.
Do you project that at some point in his career, maybe this next year or two, because that's when it would happen that he becomes one of the better pass rushers in the league, or that he's ready for that type of role, because right now they're using him as
kind of a rotational guy. Do you think that if put in a situation where he was a guy that was out there for bulk of the snaps and not being used in as much of a rotation, but maybe obviously all teams will rotate their pass rushers, if you think he has gets a little bit more opportunity, Do you think he's a type of defensive end that actually can develop into one of the better ones in the league.
And that would make the argument for you to say, let's do a one year franchise tag on him, just so that we can see if this is the year that he takes that next step and we know before we let him go if we can't sign him to a longer term deal. Before we let him go, we at least find out what are we dealing with here before we let him walk out of the door.
I do believe that Duran Sarmstrong can be a high quality starter in this league. The problem is with that argument is if you're talking about franchise tagging a guy, then you're basically you better be also putting him in a position where he can prove to you what you're asking.
He's not in that position in Dallas because the likelihood is that you know, DeMarcus Lawrence's going into a contract here, but there's a likelihood that DeMarcus Lawrence is going to get another extension to hopefully finish his career here with the Cowboys. You can pretty much take it to the bank that Michael Parsons, I mean, anything's possible, but they're going to throw the biggest possible bag of Michael Parsons. And then you look at the emergence of guys like
Sam Williams. Of Sam Williams can get his self disciplined together as far as the penalties are concerned, his window is high as well.
And then let me Lucie.
But and I think I hear what you're saying. I guess again, where I go to is I think, with all those things you just said, if you give me a young, upcoming defensive end. Look, I love what DeMarcus Lawrence does. But if you tell me you give me a Darnce Armstrong and Darrin Armstrong can give me the kind of production that Tank has given me, then I would be foolish to let him walk out of the door, because I don't know how much longer Tank will be playing.
Right, you're not wrong.
Feel bad, but do you know that at this point it's right market You're not wrong.
The problem is the time in is everything?
Yeah, it doesn't time up in twenty twenty four to have a franchise tag conversation on Durrance because Tank is still playing at a Pro Bowl level. Because Tank is likely going to be here beyond twenty twenty four, even if it's just into twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six, the fact is right now, Durrance is not going to get the opportunity to prove he's a high quality starter in the league with the Cowboys, which then flips the
tables because free agency is a two way street. If you're Durance Armstrong, if you are his agent, you're looking at the fact that Aiden Dirty went to Seattle, Seattle needs a starting pass rusher. If you're looking at the fact that Dan Quinn is in Washington, Washington.
Need so you're probably I would guess you're probably gonna lose him if you don't.
Yeah, so rather it right if you don't franchise tag him, there's a good chance that he leaves. But there's not enough of an argument to franchise tag him because the timing doesn't work out well. If we're talking about last year definitively being a downturn year for DeMarcus Lawrence, because Mike is going to be here, right. If that's the case, then that's a much more viable conversation.
But is that not a viable conversation if you're thinking of it from the standpoint of at Tank's age, this year we may see a decline.
You don't know, but you could see a decline.
And does that then pressure you to say, Okay, actually we should maybe move on from Tank and we need to keep Darnce way, you would need this year could be a pivotal year all the way around when it comes to the ans evangel.
That you would need to have seen signals for possible decline looming on twenty twenty four. For for DeMarcus Lawrence, this is a Pro Bowl caliber guy from twenty twenty two. He had a Pro Bowl worthy season in twenty twenty three.
He's been healthy.
He's been he's been healthy the entirety. I mean, he's battled some little things, but he's been available, he's been on the field. There's nothing that indicates other than his age, which hints at it's coming. It's coming any day now,
which is valid. It's coming any day now. But until you see a single sign of it actually happening, you don't have enough evidence to look Tank in the face and say, you know what, We're gonna franchise Daurrance and we're gonna put him in a position that then puts you on a slight back burner so we can see
because we're guaranteeing him twenty million dollars this year. So that's basically you telling Durrance that he's going to be your starting edge opposite Michael Parsons, while also looking at the Marcus Lawrence who's coming up for a contract extension to say well, we still want you here might not be in the starting room.
It's the timing doesn't work out for Durrance's website.
The interesting part for me is I really think they have to work hard unless their goal is to draft one.
I think they gotta work.
That's hard goal period.
But I think they gotta work really hard to try.
To re sign him to a long term deal Durrance, because I do think that that's a position that's a little shaky from the standpoint of how you look at it for the future. And one thing I think you would hate to do in the NFL is there are three positions where you would hate to lose a guy and he goes somewhere else and he's better cornerback, defensive end,
and quarterback. And if he went to Seattle and became a starter and turned into one of those guys that was regularly putting up ten to twelve sacks a year, I think the Cowboys would I think they'd be disappointed in the fact that they.
Didn't do enough to keep him here.
They developed him to this point to then let him go off somewhere and them to reap the benefits and he could.
I mean, this is a guy who's fifteen sixteen sacks over the past couple seasons as a rotational guy during so Armstrong and I've said it a million times he is one of the more perennially underrated talents in this building from those outside of the building who just don't understand what he brings to the table, not only as a pass rusher, also as a run defender and as.
A special teams guy, huge, huge and special teams.
If you lose Daurriance Armstrong, that's a big hit, and that's those some big shoes for somebody like Sam Williams and or Junior Foko who has to earn his way into the field and or a potential draft pick to come in and fill from a rotational role, especially when you if you tandemit with possibly losing Dante Fowler as well. So, yeah, the Cowboys have they're going to go pretty hard at
keeping Durrance Armstrong. But Durrance absent the franchise tag, he's got reasons to stay, and he's got reasons to be interested in possibly leaving. So guys of his caliber, you know they're gonna have value in the NFL. And I do believe if he goes to Washington he could be a double digit sack guy. If he goes to Seattle he can be a double digit SAT guy. But does that mean that the Cowboys made the wrong move depending on what the payout looks like, that he landed elsewhere.
Not necessarily, because again the timing just isn't here right now to franchise tag them, but most certainly do everything you can to keep them absent that tag.
How much do you guys think that Mike Zimmer's evaluation and players like those falls into the same lines of Mike McCarthy and everybody else.
I think it'd be huge.
And one thing that I mentioned when it came when it comes to Durrance is that you look at how impressive he's been as far as every year taking another step up, every year taking another step up. But he's also been able to do this no matter who the defensive coordinator is, no matter who it is, right, So he's been through the Rod Marinelli, Mike Nolan, Dan Quinn. So this Mike Zimmer would be his fourth defensive coordinator
with the Cowboys. That's that's mind blowing to hear that out loud, and then look at his numbers and say, he's been producing at a higher and higher level every single time. So if you're Mike Zimmer and you're coming in, that's the guy you want to keep. That's a guy that you can say, hey, you know what it does. He's so coachable and he's so talented and he's so refined that I don't have to babysit this guy. This guy's going to be ready for whatever I throwed him.
He's shown that he can produce at a starter level. So if I can get a starter caliber guy as a rotational guy and keep him here like you guys have before I got here, by all means. So to your point, I think he will look at a guy like Darnce and say absolutely, I want that guy.
Do what you can to keep that guy.
But if the Cowboys can't keep that guy, you better believe Mike Zimmer has already started turning wheels and talking to Will McClay, Stephen Jones, and Jerry Jones and saying, hey, if you can't keep this guy, I got some ideas for free agency and possibly a draft as well.
Just to be clear, I took from your question you were asking, do you think that his thoughts on these players will be different than what Quinn's. Is that what you're asking or are you just say.
A little No, I think you'll have a certain type of say for sure, but he is he looking at it the same way and you're welcome and I liked your answer regardless. But the thing is, when you see a good player, you see a good player, like there's no debating it's whether it's good, middle or like average
or bad. We can all mostly agree on that. But what I'm wondering is when you start talking about that kind of money in the future or whatever, is it a situation where possibly he feels like, Okay, we can replace that position with somebody else, whether that's via draft
or free agency bringing somebody else in. When you're considering that, you still have guys like the Marcus Lawrence Micah Parsons, which just by having them on the field would then elevate the playing level of whoever else is lining up against them or alongside them. So that's what I'm wondering
is this year. I'm not looking into the future, but for this upcoming season, is it a situation where yeah, we love him and absolutely want him back, but if not could somebody else come in be a pluging player that just by having two guys like those guys the Marcus and Mike, I just simply elevates everybody else.
I think, yes, I think that could be a possibility.
But what I personally think is going to be even more important is I think Mike's probably looking at this defense and saying, the first thing I got to do is figure out how to stop the run.
Which Mike and y I think.
First thing he says, I got to stop the run, so I will be interested to see if they don't go hard after Adorance. Does that say something about what he thinks his ability to stop the run looks like?
Right?
If they choose to have Sam elevated to where Sam's gonna get more time in the field, does that say something about what he thinks about his ability to stop the run?
Because I think that you.
Look at Zimmer's defenses in Minnesota, they always stop the run. They were always top ten stopping the run consistently. So I think the first thought he is is, what are these players that are currently on the roster, and the players that are potential free agents and the players that are in the draft, how are they going to help me be able to devise a plan that will stop the run. And so I don't know what those answers are. Only he will know that at least as how he
sees it. But the fact is, I think a lot of what we see over the next few months will tell us what he thinks about that. People like jay Ron Curse, I think those decisions are going to be made based upon how much does he factor into what Zimmer thinks he can do to stop the run. We know the linebacker's position is a position where they gotta do something. That's just They put Marque's Bell in a horrible situation and he performed admirably, but he was in
a horrible situation. They know they got to figure that. But I really do think everything that we look at this offseason with regards to the defense, I'm going to be looking at through the prism of is this helping the defense stop the run? And guys that leave it will suggest to me that Mike Zimmer doesn't think they're necessary to stop in the run.
I think it all works hand in hand because if you look at it from the aspect of is Zimmer coming in saying, well, if Armstrong can't be retained, Well, there's possibly someone else who can step up in his role. I don't see that person in the building right now. Could it be Sam? Zimmer talks a lot about discipline, and we know that he's huge on it. So again, I say, if you're talking about the Zimmer variable, I
don't see it as Sam yet. As far as replacing Armstrong, maybe after twenty twenty four we feel differently about it and we say, Okay, there we go. Sam's that guy. But as we have this conversation, can't see it. Yeah, So I think that if you're Mike Zimmer, you're saying I want Dorin Charmstrong because I want him in rotation with Micah and de Marcus.
I know what that is.
But then it goes to the front office to say, well, they might come back to Zimmer and say we want him as well. He's a great organizational guy, great locker room guy. We got to see what the price is, though, and if we can't get him at our price, what other options are you thinking about?
Free agency?
Wise, jriff wise, I think that's the conversation that's that's gonna happen upstairs.
All right, We're gonna take our first break. We're gonna come back. We'll get to our much anticipated segment on DAK Prescott will do that when we come back Dallas.
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It is the second segment of the Break Life in that WBC Mortgage Studios at the Star. This segment brought to you by Blockchain dot Com. All right, let's talk about Dak Prescott. I want to start with a basic, big picture question on Dak. What would you say after watching him play this season really put watching him play throughout his career. What would you say is the greatest asset that Dak brings to the table.
Greatest asset I would say his leadership, his personality, and the way he handles the people are gonna laugh at me by saying this, I was gonna say it handles the pressure. WHOA look at that grand Meagan.
Oh you know how it goes right now.
Recently Bias says that anything we say on Dak, people are gonna roll their eyes if it's a positive statement.
But go ahead, I get your point.
I get you.
No, I think he's a he's a wonderful leader and the way he handles the whole adversity and I get it. Yeah, it's a great story, his story, and I get that fans are over it at some point enough is enough. But my thing is last year he proved to me that he had not hit the ceiling, even though some people might think so because of how the playoffs turned out. But I think we saw him become even a better player. We saw him still being developed in his how many years is this this.
Is going eight?
Eight?
It's a long time six when he got Yeah, a long.
Time, but he started doing things that I think, and I've talked about it before. My issue heading into this last season was like, Okay, you've changed so many moving pieces around him. You've changed personnel, you've changed players, you've changed coaches, coaches, you've changed so much that at one point he has to be everything else is going to
start pointing at him as the problem. But he was able to be that guy today that he took on certain games where he even though when certain players weren't playing as well, he was able to carry that on his back and still perform at a high level. And that's something that I had not seen from him necessarily before.
So just the way he played, and I get it that last game just kind of it's easy to wipe everything out, but you have to look at everything else, and you have to remember he wasn't the only the only one that played terrible in the Green Bay game. This was a collective mess from everybody that played absolutely bad. But I think the way that every year his mentality is what I'm trying to say, that's what I liked
most about him. Last year he talked about the interceptions and he came back and absolutely completely proved that that he could improve in that aspect.
Agreed, it's leadership. We can we can talk about the lack of posts and success and that matters.
It is valid.
Do you need more from Dak Prescott on the field in the postseason one?
You do?
That is true. But if you're talking about leadership, it's bulletproof. It's bulletproof. The way that he can galvanize this team, the way that you know he goes about himself as as the consummate professional both on and off the field, The way that he never lets any you know, media reports or talk outside the building rattle him or the
locker room. The way that you know he's able to be resilient through all of the things that he's been through in life, the loss of his mom to cancer, the loss of his brother to suicide, to still be able to not only function, but to function at a high level while also you know, being you know, showing his advocacy for like cancer prevention and awareness and mental
health advocacy and things like that. So when it comes to being a leadership, there are few human beings that have demonstrated that better than what Dak Prescott can do. So leadership wise, one hundred percent now if you're talking production, which we'll get into, that's a different conversation as far as postseason versus regular season. But it doesn't matter what part of the calendar year it is. Dak Prescott is a leader.
All right.
So here's a I think the question of the day at this point really the question of this offseason.
What do you do with that?
And I have a few options here, and I want you, guys, tell me where you think it works best from your eyes with regards to Dak. Number one, Dak's your guy. You stick with Dak. You give him a new, long term deal.
He's locked up.
You don't worry about what happens next year because he is locked up. You have him on a longer term deal. Number Two, you play out this year knowing that at the end of this year he will be a free agent, and at that point he will be able to choose whether he wants to stay here or not. And at the same time, you continue developing Trey Lance with the hopes that maybe Trey Lance can develop into something worthwhile, or at least give yourself a little more time to
see how that works. Now, one of the interesting things there, people say, you can't play on the deal. I actually saw this. There's actually a pretty simple way for Dallas to be able to absorb Dak's money this year.
If they don't do anything with it.
You could restructure still Digs, Cooks, and then you could do a post June cut on Gallup, vander Esh and Rush. I think all those things are possible, and if you do that, you don't have to do anything with Dax deal. You could let it ride as it is and you could still have some money. I think with all those things done, you would get twenty million dollars under the cap, so you still have some money to work this offseason.
I don't know if you'd be all in necessarily, but you have money to work with when free agency starts, So that's your second option. You let this share play out, you don't do anything different with Dak's contract, and you see what happens with Trey Lance.
Or number three.
You go ahead and say, right now, I'm gonna go ahead and start looking at what my options are on free agency. Are there quarterbacks out there or their quarterbacks that could trade for Not the most likely option, but I needed to throw it out as an option for you guys to choose from. So if you had to choose one of those three options, where do you stand with Dak Prescott?
Would you get it? GARCIEA.
I think extending the contract, I think would make more sense in the long term money wise, But I am more in favor of letting this year play out. If we're on the hot seat, we're all in the hot seat this year, we're talking about coaches and everybody.
Then yeah, yeah.
We did.
We did.
If everybody is playing on this this is the year type of situation, then the quarterback should be doing it too. And I love Dak, I absolutely do, and I have not given up and on him, and I think what he showed this year, like I said earlier, really made me feel better into what he is. I'm not gonna take like Green Bay loss as who he is. I'm gonna take it as crap happens, and it happened again, and it happened to everybody from everybody. But I do think just because of the situation of most of the
you know Mike McCarthy, you got Mike Simmer too. Wait, Zimmer, isn't it what's the contract on Simmer?
Well, we don't no quite yet, but I hear what I'm hearing unofficially. Unofficially, I'm hearing that it's one year deal unofficially, but I haven't been most seconds, but I haven't been.
The other thing too about about coaches is even if let's say it's a long term deal, let's say it's a three year deal, year deal, Yeah, they make a move next year and they bringing another head coach and he wants the different coordinators not just move on like that's how to it works with coaching unfortunately.
But the point is, I know or the coordinator for a head coaching position, right exactly.
Yeah, Yeah, there's all kinds of scenarios. I don't worry so much about that.
I just would one just to add more drama to it, that added pressure.
So everybody's on one year, everybody, everybody.
That's what all that means. You put it all in there, and if you're now you're screwed, go home and everybody, everybody, everybody. So this is what we're at, This is where we're at this year. That's not to say I don't trust Dak and don't want to see him succeed, but if we're all in the hot seat, we're all in the hot seat.
You know it has nothing to do with trust. If you ask me, I think the Cowboys trust Dak Prescott as their franchise quarterback one hundred percent. This is about playing the twenty twenty four season with the maximum amount of motivation for every possible individual. Dak Prescott said after the lost to Green Bay. He said, if McCarthy's on the hot seat, so should I be. Okay, here we
are hot seat. I say play it out through twenty twenty four because rather you whether you set the market with Dak Prescott in twenty twenty four or you wait and you set it in twenty twenty five because he went on a playoff run and did everything that you felt that he could do in the postseason to come.
He's going either way.
You're going to set the market now as far as are we talking tens of millions of dollars more likely, But you're also talking about a salary cap that's tens of millions of dollars higher. You're also talking about more expiring contracts. In a league of attrition, it's a revolving door. So you look at the bottom half of the roster. So just like right now, you put together some great variables as far as how to absorb Dak Prescott's sixty
sixty one million dollar cap hit. If you want to absorb it as structured, right, that's going to be the same conversation next year, next summer, and then you will also have had a full year and full offseason of development for Trey Lance to at least see where he is and can he take over in twenty five Maybe maybe not. I think all of that is a perfect conversation for next offseason. But the only way that becomes a more meaningful conversation is if you just let this
final year of the contract play out. Work the numbers however you work. You can restructure some guys, you release some guys, or you can restructure Dak's deal. Yes, that pushes money to the back end, but again, salary cap is ballooning every single year with new TV deals and things like that.
You can do whatever you want against right, so you really can't.
We see, if you restructure him, then you get twenty twenty one million dollars. You can get that twenty million dollars. That way, the numbers game can be played. But I believe that the Cowboys believe in Dak Prescott, but I would tie his twenty twenty four season.
Let's put it this way.
I would tie his future with the Cowboys to McCarthy's future with the Cowboys and look at that head coaching quarterback duo and say, we want both of you around for the long run, but you're gonna have to make us, make us pay you the amount of money that we that you know, we know you want, make us put it on the table, and we're willing to if you do that. NFC Championship, super Bowl, things like that.
Theoretically, that all makes sense. Let me throw one risk factor in there. You said, okay, we let this here play out, and let's say that Dak has a great year next year he takes him to the Promised Land, they get.
To the super Bowl. Let's say, okay, here's the problem.
Know where he's going.
Here's the problem. Yeah, you could say we can pay, we'll set the market. But what if another team's saying we'll set the market plus some and you create a bidding war. You no longer have control at that point because you can't franchise and you can't trade him. So at that point it is Dak has all the leverage if at that point, let's say, I don't know, you named three teams out there that are quarterbacks starved, that are like, this is our opportunity.
How often do you get a quarterback quarterback and just want the super Bowl available.
To you, that is a complete free agent and can go wherever he wants to go. What makes you say that maybe dak is just like, man, I'm just tired of all the scrutiny that comes with being in Dallas, like that, it would be nice to go somewhere where the media just don't talk about what I have for breakfast, Like I just want to be able to go somewhere where I can play football, and yeah, I'm gonna be on a new sun, but I don't wake up every morning.
That's nice.
I'm saying you no longer have control. Are you comfortable with the idea that you no longer have control? Especially if by the way he does all the things you've been hoping he would do this.
Next year, it's the risk.
It's kind of like what mbar said or not kind of like it's exactly what she said. When if you're all in and it's just like Jerry Jones mentioned, he's all in, for twenty twenty four. He's not worrying about the future things like they's not necessarily planning for the future. Push all your chip proven, push all your chips to the table, and you're either going to you know, walk away with some a lot of winnings, or you wanna walk away broke and upset and you're you're risking it.
I mean, this is a dice roll. You're either gonna come up three, You're gonna come up snake eyes, and there's there's really no in between. Because I also think about it from the aspect of and for those that don't haven't lived it the Clint Sterner days and the Stephen McGee days and the Quincy Carter days. I don't think people understand exactly how valuable Dak Prescott has become to the winning at least regular season the winning culture
that wasn't present pre Romo post apmen not whatsoever. I mean, Google is free by all means, go google it. That being said, of course, the Cowboys want him around for the long term. That's why I'm not mad at them for, you know, possibly extending him this off season. But if you're asking my opinion, I would absolutely just let this play out because.
And you're comfortable with that if you lose it.
Right, because I'm not comfortable if he plays well, gets you to a super Bowl and then you lose them, You're like, ah, this okay, that that freaking sucks, right, but at least hopefully you got a ring out of it.
And then what if he got you to the super Bowl but lost.
You didn't get right there, you didn't get all the way there, but you're close enough now.
I mean, let's say let's say it because of him.
Let's say he's played let's place.
Let's say he plays okay, Let's say he has a two hundred and fifty yard passing day, has one interception, a touchdown or two, and that's his day. It wasn't anything where you're like he was the man. You also are like, this wasn't necessarily on him. He contributed to it because he had the interception, but it wasn't on him. How do you feel about that at that point, because you feel like you're really close At that point, you
feel like you're there, close enough to touch it. And even if you start over with a Trey Lance, you're like, oh god, it's going back to the beginning.
How do you feel about that?
I think you also got a factory.
And I guess my question before we answer that one is what's the situation with McCarthy in that scenario.
In that scenario, I think McCarthy's back that three twelve and twelve and five seasons and then goes to the super Bowl even if he loses. I don't I don't see how you fire a coach with that resume in four.
Years, and it's that's very successful.
If McCarthy is back after a season like that, even if you drop it in the super Bowl, then I think Dak wants to stay. I'm looking at variables in negotiation, right. So money is a huge motivator in free agency, but that's not the only motivator, especially for a relationships guy like Dak Prescott.
So you're saying Dak would choose to come back because he would all finished business.
Right, correct, as long as the money is comparable.
So at that point, now you're talking about he can either reset the market with a team like Tampa, or he can reset the market with the Cowboys. But if Tampa, hypothetically, because you're smaller, market less scrutiny to that point but if Tampa's offer is set in the market and the Cowboys offer is also a market center, but Tampa is slightly higher. But McCarthy is back, and you're coming off of a super Bowl run that you just fell short
in the Super Bowl. I think da Prescott looks at that and says, you know what, unfinished business, and my guy's back, and Ceedee Lamb is still here for the long haul and and yeah, but here what you.
Just said, Ceede Lamb's here for long long term? Does that complicate matters that now you're in a situation where you're in a bidding war for your quarterback. And by the way, you now got to sign one of the top three to five wide receivers in the league.
No, you got to get Lamb done. That's a different conversation. I'm willing to let's get.
Let's let's assume you've got in the world, you've already got Lamb done.
Now let's assume you got Lamb already done. What about Micah? Like again, you're you're now in a bidding war for your quarterback. At the same time, you're gonna have to probably create a record setting type deal for defensive player in Michael Parsons.
I have an answer. Yeah, we talked about that franchise.
Okay, just franchising.
What you know about Mike If he's on a franchise, sad you think he signed that showing up?
Yeah you do. Yeah, I don't think that. Okay. Let me put it this way.
If micah Is is true to the implication that he put out there that he's willing to be patient and let like ceedee lamb get his money and things like that, that tell me that he at least understands the prioritization here that being sick.
I also think he's a true businessman. Let's be cud about that one hundred percent.
That also goes to the point of if that did become a situation where you're in a bedding war for your franchise quarterback versus a bidding war for your you know, a generational edge rusher, your generational edge rusher who deferred to your generational wide receiver just a year prior, I could see Michael saying, you know what, I'll take this tag,
by the way, fully guaranteed and knock on wool. Mike has not had any injury issues that has cost him availability go ahead and pay Dak Prescott, and then we'll meet at this table offseason twenty twenty six. Oh and by the way, when we meet at the table off season twenty twenty six, if you thought I was going to be the highest paid in NFL history, go ahead
and add some more to that. So I think, being a shrue businessman understanding the prioritization between who needs to be paid win, if it came to Michael versus Dak, I could fully see Michael saying, go ahead and pay our quarterback, because I do want to win, and I know that if we re there's no guarantee with Trey Lance, there's no guarantee with a drafted quarterback, and right now there's no one on the market quarterback wise that is
equivalent to what Dak Prescott gives you. So if Micah is going to hold true to that word, then I think he'd be fine with it.
Yeah.
I think that's And again I don't know. I've not talked to Michael about this. I'm not talked to Dak
about this. I don't know what they're thinking. My old point is, and the point I'm trying to make here is there's a lot of factors that are involved here more so than just saying do you pay Dak now, I'll pay Dak later, because the fact is that decision will set off a chain reaction of things that will happen over the next two years that could be franchise changing, right, And so I just think, you know, this conversation has a lot of layers to it that go far beyond
just what Dak did in that playoff game against Green Bay. You gotta really think about what are you doing for the future and if this happens, then this is gonna happen, and how does that affect this There are all these different layers and I think all that has.
To be And then there's the edit layer of let's say you you go ahead and extend him right now, which again I'm totally fine with giving his value. Yes, you need more from the postseason, but he's earned an extension, another extension in my opinion. But if things don't go well in twenty twenty four, and any of it is on the quarterback, let's say Mike McCarthy is out, you
got a new head coach coming in. You know who head coaches love to target first, They need their quarterback they want their guy at quarterback, and you've seen it all around the league over the history of the league. What does that mean for Dak Prescott on a very long term deal versus a incoming head coach that might like that but might have other ideas in like a Cliff Kingsbury kind of way.
Right.
So, but also those conversations from what I've heard in the past when interviewing certain head coaches, they what's on the table is can you work well, yeah, first yo, If not, then you might not be the right option for it.
That's true.
But now you're also and again this is this is such a fun conversation that also goes to the understanding that you're possibly limiting your pool of candidates as well. Right, So, if there's a particular candidate that you definitely want for a head coach and you ask him that question rather be Dak Prescott, or if you're a GM of any other team, your owner of any other team, if you say, you know Baker Mayfield, Baker Mayfield's got our guy, can you come in and coach him? You're the guy we want,
and he's like, yeah, that's not who I want to coach. Well, as owner and GM. Guess what, you just lost your top candidates, so now everyone else is not a consolation prize. But that's not your guy. Now you're trying to make some things work. So it's it's such a leveled and layered conversation. And I will say that in the past, I was on record that the Cowboys took too long to pay Dak Prescott.
I think we all were yeah, yeah, they.
Took too long to pay him.
They took too long to paym But this is an interesting in a different time frame in that you look at what happened in this year's postseason, right, and you look at you have to balance that with your runner up in the MVP race, Like, oh right, head coach didn't get extended.
He's on a one year deal. He's on a you know, a hot seat to speak. Hmm.
Defense is still working some things out, Mike Zimmer, new guys, who's going, who's coming? Player wise, so many, so much on the table that if you're I said, if you're all in, I'm with them. But if you're all in, just push it all to the push all the chips in the middle. And that goes for free agency signs as well. Push it all to the middle and uh and pray that it works out for you. And if it doesn't, then you.
You work it. Then you work it.
However you can work it right, and you you stand in front of deck and said, my bad, here's a whole here's a whole bunch. Here's a whole bunch more money to make it.
Okay, Right, so all right, we got final reck will come back. We'll get one question here before we end the show. We'll be back Dallas Cowboys dot com Radio.
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Welcome back, final segment of the Break Life from that WBC Mortgage Studios. At the start, I got one final question for you guys before we end the show. We have thirty seconds. Do your best? Which option of those three that I gave you is most likely to happen. I know what we've given is our opinions on it, And what do you think is more likely to happen.
They stick with Dak, give him a new deal, They play this year out and don't give him a new deal, but with the hopes that they will maybe do something next year or look at other options in free agency or the draft.
I think it's more likely they extend him this offseason, especially, you know, if you're Jerry Jones and you're looking at it, and of course, if you're Jerry Jones, you've lived through the Sterner and the McGee years and things like that.
I want to Steven McGee feels about you're just throwing his name out there like that.
You should have played well, so you don't really care. No, not at all, Sorry, Steve. It's the objectivities thjectivity. You should play better. Same for you, But no knocking.
They're not going to miss a human beings. That's football player what the Cowboys needed. But also, if you're Jerry Jones, I harken back to the fact that you know, he said I don't have time for a bad time. He senses his mortality. He doesn't want to hit the hard reset. He knows, like you said during the break, this decision could impact the Cowboys in one direction or another for the next ten years. The reality is Jerry doesn't know
if he has another ten years or not. You hate to say it out loud, but that's the reality of it. So I think it's likely that the Cowboys don't want to reset that quarterback or don't want to risk resetting that quarterback anytime soon.
I think that gets the deal this off season.
Yeah, I think that's the most likely to happen, just because of everything we've heard heard the Cowboys say, Jerry Jones, Stephen Jones, everybody like people like him. This is not and there's no bad blood happening there. The relationship is strong between Dak and the franchise, and another big thing like Dak has never lost the It's funny how every time I'm gonna say something, like an image pops in my head, and the one that just popped in my head was City being all pissed on the sideline with
Dak and all of that. But where I was going at is like he's never had that kind of beef with players. He's always had players back, So I think the more likelihood. And I was here when it was Brendan wheedon Matt Castle Mud, so I experienced a little bit of that and it was not fun at all. And I think Dak if anything, he yeah, he is a good quarterback. He is a good quarterback, and yeah, most likelihood they'll extend him. But I still would like
to take the risk and gamble. Let's gamble. No, No, we cannot gamble.
We cannot.
I was about to say, I don't get against the wall, but no, I do think this will be a very interesting offseason. I think this decision will have far reaching implications. Next week, we're going to start talking a little bit about free agency, because that's coming up here fast and furious. We're going to talk about the Cowboys free agents next week, the players that are on that were on the roster this last year that will become free agents, and what
we think will happen with those guys. The week after that, we'll start talking about some guys that are not on this roster and maybe some free agents that the Cowboys should be looking at. To get everyone ready for that March eleventh week when free agency will begin.
A spring break week, So that'll.
Be perfectly all right.
We'll really quickly before we go, and I'm going to try not to get emotional here as we breathe through this. I'd be remiss if I did not offer my condolences to the family of Mark Lane. Close close friend of mine. I considered him a brother one hundred percent. His passing earlier this week has has been devastating for both his family, me and my family, and just the Cowboys fandom and Cowboys beat as a whole. Lost not only one of the best to ever do it from a professional standpoint,
but also one of the best human beings ever. So love you, brother, Rest well into the Lane family. I'll see you soon for his services. Us said with that, we will in the show. We'll be back with you guys next week for Patrick Walker, Ambergarci. I'm Derek Eagleton.
This has been The Break live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
This has been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club.