Admitted Dak Prescott superfan Troy Aikman firmly believes the Dallas Cowboys will bypass a quarterback in the 2021 NFL draft and stick with the injured incumbent.
The Cowboys legend and current FOX analyst explained to USA Today’s Jori Epstein that the team is likelier to pay Prescott than invest a potential top-five pick in his successor.
“You coach to win, that’s the objective,” Aikman said. “I think all those things kind of work itself out. The Cowboys aren’t in need of a quarterback. I can see where maybe some teams might look at it as, ‘Trevor Lawrence is sitting out there, we’d sure like a shot at him.’ But I don’t think Dallas is in the market for his services.”
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As it pertains to Lawrence, Dallas probably won’t have a choice. Clemson’s generational QB prospect is the presumed favorite to be taken No. 1 overall, and the 0-9 New York Jets essentially are locked into the top slot. He’s the pipedream to end all pipedreams, even if the organization was interested.
But someone like Ohio State’s Justin Fields seems more palatable for the 2-7 Cowboys, who currently own the No. 3 overall choice. Fields is just a notch below Lawrence but boasts similar franchise traits and elite passing tools. He’d be a cost-controlled backup to a potential franchise-tagged Prescott or day-one starter in the event Dak departs via free agency.
A scenario Aikman cannot foresee.
“I think the guy’s a wonderful individual, a great leader, a great teammate,” he told Epstein. “I mean, everything that you want. And he’ll get his money. He got money this year, that’s nothing to be upset about. But his big payday, multiyear contract is coming. And I’ll be the happiest person around for him.”
Despite a grisly Week 5 compound fracture and dislocation in his ankle, Prescott has received the support of his superiors, with both owner/general manager Jerry Jones and vice president Stephen Jones strongly refuting the notion that they’re eyeing a future rookie replacement.
“Yes, you ask me if it’s crazy to bring the idea up? And I’ve answered it, yes,” Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan. “It’s not the thing to be talking about at all. Dak is our quarterback.”
“Dak’s our quarterback. We’re so fired up about him and leading us into the future. … We’re fired up about our future with Dak,” Stephen Jones told reporters Monday.
Jones revealed Monday that Prescott is ahead of schedule in his post-surgical recovery and could only miss four months rather than six. The 27-year-old, vowing to return with a vengeance in 2021, is slated to become an unrestricted free agent; early indications point to the Cowboys applying the franchise tag for a second straight season, at a price of $37.7 million — fully guaranteed.
“[We’ve] not had any [contractual] conversations with Dak Prescott since his injury,” Stephen Jones said Monday.
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