Jerry Jones: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is like family, no going forward without him
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones held court with the local media for about 81 minutes aboard his luxury Dallas Cowboys bus outside the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott.
It was Jones’ annual state of the team address during the NFL’s annaul combine event and he was in rare form, comparing the necessity of keeping free agent quarterback Dak Prescott in the fold to his own son, team vice president Stephen Jones.
Jones urged the media not to make to much of the meeting on Wednesday with Prescott’s agents, despite it being the first time the two sides talked since negotiations on a long-term deal broke down last September.
“Don’t make anything of that, one way or another,” Jones said Thursday. “That’s not what counts. [What counts is] when you decide it’s time to make it work.”
Jones said he was not trying to demean the meeting, but made it clear that “what counts is when it looks like it fits.”
And it won’t be able to fit until the the NFL and NFLPA gains some clarity or resolution on new collective bargaining agreement.
But Jones said his feeling on Prescott’s future is “the same that I feel about Stephen [Jones]. There’s no going forward without Stephen or one of your family members, so you’ve got to get it figured out.”
Jones said it’s a deal the Cowboys have to get done. But it is also one that has to fit.
Prescott walked away from a deal in September that would have made him one of the top five highest-paid quarterbacks with up to $33 million annually. It also would have given him more than $100 million in guaranteed money, though sources said Prescott disagreed on the amount of the guarantee.
Jones said the Cowboys were going to keep Prescott’s rights no matter what. So if they do not have a deal in place by the March 12 deadline, the team will use the franchise tag on him. That means Prescott would earn $32.9 million, but it would only be for the coming season.
The problem with that is that it would likely mean Prescott would be a no-show at voluntary offseason practices while the team tries to institute a new offensive scheme under new head coach Mike McCarthy. Tagging Prescott could also expose the team’s other high-profile talent, receiver Amari Cooper, in free agency if a new CBA is reached.
But Jones is not worried about the possibility of Prescott staying away from the offseason program if the quarterback is tagged.
“It’s not a concern of mine,” Jones said. “Dak understands, in my mind, one of the great things about Dak is his commitment to building a team. I don’t have an issue there. That’s just the reality of the thing. I am not in any way going to not have his rights, for one minute.”
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 6:58 PM.
