Did the Dallas Cowboys insult Dak Prescott by signing Andy Dalton?

The Dallas Cowboys have been trending towards championship-caliber for past few seasons. Did they just set themselves back by crowding the QB room?

The Dallas Cowboys have had an offseason full of progression and mostly positive news. While they failed to get quarterback Dak Prescott locked into a long-term deal, they did manage to sign wide receiver Amari Cooper to a five-year extension.

While the Cowboys allowed a few key players from last season’s defense to leave, such as cornerback Byron Jones, defensive end Robert Quinn, and defensive tackle Maliek Collins, they did manage to admirably fill most of those holes in the draft or in free agency. For the most part, other than the sudden retirement of center Travis Frederick, the Cowboys were having an almost flawless offseason without any negative moves.

That was until Saturday evening. That’s when the Cowboys reportedly agreed to a one-year deal with free-agent quarterback, Andy Dalton.

There were many immediate reactions, but they all expressed the same emotions. These were a mix of confusion, anger, and fear of relapse into everything that this offseason had seemed to illustrate the team was getting away from.

How could you bring in another starting-caliber passer at the most important position on your football team when you can’t seem to strike a deal with the guy who’s supposed to man that position for your team for the next 10 to 15 years? How?

There really isn’t a need to wonder if Dalton would beat Prescott out for the job in my opinion. But if your goal is to get the absolute best of Dak, why would you do this to his mental? The move has probably already sent a bad message. And one that could be considered insulting to a young franchise passer in the midst of contract negotiations.

This isn’t a referendum on Prescott’s mental fortitude and nor should it be. But in one of the most high-pressure professional positions around, why turn that pressure up to 11 with this move right now?

While some, like ESPN’s Todd Archer, seem to shrug the move off as simply a “depth” play, it screams the wrong message from an optical perspective. I sure hope it doesn’t all blow up in the Dallas Cowboys’ faces, but what did they expect after lighting this powder keg?