Jerry Jones provides worst possible update for Dak Prescott's contract with Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys entered training camp with multiple lingering contract extensions that in theory, would have been better off getting done as soon as possible. Instead, Dallas sat on its hands, watched the free-agent market grow in price, and still has not struck a deal with Dak Prescott or CeeDee Lamb (or Micah Parsons, for that matter, but that will be next offseason's conundrum).

Getting close to the 2024 regular season without figuring out these contract situations certainly is like playing with fire. The Cowboys are risking upsetting their best players, not only impacting the future of the organization but the immediate success in 2024.

Jerry Jones has already shown absolutely no urgency in getting a deal done with Lamb and it appears he feels the same way about his franchise quarterback. While speaking to reports on Tuesday, Jones confirmed that no new deal is in place for Dak, and that this situation may boil over to the regular season.

Jerry Jones provides worst possible non-update on Dak Prescott's Cowboys contract

Jones saying that the team is operating under the existing contract essentially confirms that Prescott is going to head into the 2024 season without a new deal. Prescott is in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal he signed.

Contract negotiations are not impossible to have during the regular season but the hope usually is to get it done beforehand to prevent any kind of distractions. The ultimate goal, after all, is to win a Super Bowl and prolonging this into the regular season may hamper that goal.

Prescott has every reason to feel slighted by the Cowboys for the team's lack of urgency to get a deal done. The Cowboys' signal-caller is coming off the best year of his career and has been consistently better than other quarterbacks who have signed big-time deals this offseason.

Prescott is a better quarterback than Jared Goff and Trevor Lawrence, who both signed massive deals with their respective teams. It may have seemed like two overpays at the time but the Detroit Lions and Jacksonville Jaguars did the smart thing of taking care of their QBs before the season starts.

Who knows what kind of impact this could have on the regular season. It could cause friction between Prescott and the organization, resulting in bad locker room chemistry and underperformance on the field.

It could change the way Prescott plays, too. If the Cowboys are not going to give Prescott a new deal he has no reason to put his body on the line at all during the season. We could see a more conservative Prescott, and any lingering issues he may have could result in him missing time.

Why should Prescott suit up and risk a long-term injury that would derail his value for a team that does not want to value him long-term? If there are any lingering issues, Prescott has every right to sit on the sidelines and make the Cowboys figure it out.

All in all, this was a completely avoidable situation that Jones and the organization once again turned into a soap opera. Unfortunately, the soap opera is not ending any time soon.