Dallas Cowboys Franchise Tag QB Dak Prescott
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas Cowboys have placed the exclusive franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott, which secures the 26-year-old's rights and prevents another team from negotiating with him.
Though the league year does not start until Wednesday, March 18 at 3 pm, teams can officially start negotiating with players at 11 am today, March 16.
Prescott will earn $33 million if he plays under the tag in 2020, and the team will have until July 15th to sign him to a long term deal. If no deal can be reached Prescott will have to play the 2020 season under the tag or sit out.
Although the team didn't make a playoff appearance in 2019, it was Prescott's most successful since entering the NFL throwing for 4,902 yards, 30 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions for a 99.7 passer rating. The team finished 8-8 for a second-place finish in the NFC East. The Cowboys have gone 40-24 in games Prescott has been under center winning two NFC East titles in that span.
Prescott becomes the first quarterback to be franchised tagged since Kirk Cousins was tagged by Washington in 2017. Cousins went on to play for the Redskins under the tag again the next year before signing a long term deal with the Minnesota Vikings. The Cowboys would obviously like to avoid a similar scenario, however, according to reports the sides are not close on guaranteed money, years, or the average yearly salary of the deal.
Reportedly Prescot turned down a deal submitted by the Cowboys in early March in excess of $33 million a year with $105 million guaranteed.
With the new CBA being ratified over the weekend, the Cowboys have lost the ability to use two tags this offseason. The Cowboys had planned on using that other tag on wide receiver Amari Cooper. Cooper has said several times this offseason that he wants to be on the Dallas Cowboys, however, that desire could be put to the test when the legal tampering period starts this Morning.
The Cowboys have several other players becoming free agents Wednesday including Byron Jones, Robert Quinn, and Randall Cobb. Depending on how the next 72 hours goes for the Cowboys we could be looking at a very different roster in 2020.
