The Dallas Cowboys have not made much progress in extending their top three superstars in quarterback Dak Prescott, wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and linebacker Micah Parsons.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the latest on SportsCenter.
“The Dallas Cowboys are as far along with CeeDee Lamb as they are with Micah Parsons as they are with Dak Prescott, which is to say, not very far along with any of these players right now.”
Prescott has one year left on his current contract. Lamb is playing out the team’s fifth-year option on his rookie deal. Parsons is entering the fourth-year of his now five-year rookie deal after the Cowboys picked up his fifth-year option.
Dallas certainly has time to get deals done with all three, but it’s still a bit of an unsettling situation.
Of note, Lamb hasn’t been present for the team’s mandatory minicamp as he searches for a contract extension. He’s an important player to re-sign, especially after a career year for the 25-year-old with 135 catches for 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns.
The pressure isn’t as great to get something done for Parsons with him being the only one of the three to not be entering a walk year right now. However, he’s still a generational talent who deserves a massive deal.
The former Penn State star has finished top three in the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year voting in all three of his seasons, and it feels like a DPOY award is inevitable. Parsons has racked up 213 tackles, 89 quarterback hits and 40.5 sacks over three seasons.
As for Prescott, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported last Friday on SportsCenter that the Cowboys are prioritizing his contract above Lamb and Parsons.
“You’ve got Dak Prescott. The Cowboys have a world of problems here financially with three players they have to sign—Micah Parsons, CeeDee Lamb as well—but the feeling around the league and sources I’ve talked to is that they want to start with Dak. They’ve put it on the table with Dak’s people that ‘Hey look, you’re a priority. We want to try to get something done.’ As far as hard dollars, not a lot of progress yet. I would describe their efforts so far as passive.”
Still, as Fowler noted, it doesn’t appear that much progress has been made despite that prioritization.
Schefter also reported Tuesday that “here is not a player in football with more leverage with his situation than Dak Prescott,” citing the no-trade clause and no-tag clause in his contract. So if the Cowboys can’t get something done this year, they’re very possibly starting over at quarterback with Prescott being able to waltz into free agency next offseason.
That might not be a great spot for Dallas. Yes, the Cowboys haven’t had much playoff success with Prescott aboard, but he’s still led Dallas there in five of his eight seasons (and each of his past three). Prescott also just notched career-highs with 410 completions and a 105.9 quarterback rating. He also threw for an NFL-high 36 touchdowns.
Again, it’s only June, so there’s no reason to slam on the panic button. But there has to be at least a little concern at this point with the contract situations appearing very far from being settled.