Is Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott good at math?

So while it is possible to sign 43 players for $56 million it is not practical as the bottom 43 contracts on the 2019 Cowboys total $83 million. The quality of those players would make the Cowboys a team of 10 stars and 43 rookies and first year players.

The analysis clearly shows that the Cowboys cannot afford to sign Dak Prescott, Amari Cooper, Ezekiel Elliott, Byron Jones, Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch to fair market deals assuming the cap rises $10 million per year. While Dak Prescott is trying to control the narrative to benefit his contract negotiation, his optimism is misguided.

By far, the $34 million cap hit for an average quarterback is the biggest obstacle to make the math work. History has shown that competent quarterback play (i.e. Trent Dilfer/Tony Banks would have ranked 14st in passing yards in 2000, Tom Brady/Drew Bledsoe would have ranked 17th in passing yards in 2001, Brad Johnson was 17th in passing yards in 2002, Eli Manning was 12th in passing yards in 2007, Ben Roethlisberger was 14th in passing yards in 2008, Joe Flacco was 14th in passing yards in 2012, Russell Wilson was 16th in passing yards in 2013, Nick Foles in 2017) can win the Super Bowl.

The Dallas Cowboys may be better off letting Prescott play out his last year on his rookie deal and then franchise him in 2020. They should then move up in the 2020 draft to pick a first-round quarterback.

The rookie quarterback could red-shirt behind Prescott in 2020 like Patrick Mahomes did behind Alex Smith for the Kansas City Chiefs. At the end of the 2020 season, the Cowboys would franchise Prescott a second time with the intention to trade him to recover the draft picks that were used to move up to draft his replacement.

One last thought about Prescott. Is he truly a Franchise quarterback? Pro Football Focus rated him the 18th best signal caller in 2018.

If the Cowboys pay a mid-tier quarterback as a top five quarterback, they better be certain that the quarterback can raise the level of play of everyone around him because it is clear that some really good football players will no longer be Dallas Cowboys so that they can afford their highly paid quarterback.

Again, I am not a Dak Prescott hater. I just want America’s Team fans to be clear that the Front Office’s team friendly contracts strategy is the only way that the pieces to the puzzle will all fit together.

For more grades, advanced statistics and more at Pro Football Focus, subscribe to PFF’s EDGE or ELITE subscriptions at ProFootballFocus.com.