The Dallas Cowboys did it yet again and Dak Prescott — with the season on the line and legitimate expectations for a Super Bowl run from smart people both inside the Dallas building and media/analysts from outside — believed this 2023 squad was different.
Why?
Prescott was in the discussion for NFL MVP this season and closed out arguably the best regular season of his career. The Cowboys entered their January wildcard round matchup as two-score favorites over the Green Bay Packers, who entered the matchup with a first-year starting QB and the youngest roster in the NFL.
Dak Prescott closed out the 2023 regular season ranked in the top five in several major categories for NFL QB. He came into Sunday’s playoff matchup against the Green Bay Packers with 4,516 yards (3rd), 36 touchdowns (1st), 9 interceptions and a QB rating of 72.5 (2nd).
Although some rolled there eyes when Jerry Jones and company decided to fire Kellen Moore at the end of last season — as he’s regarded as one of the up and coming young and brilliant offensive minds — head coach Mike McCarthy took over play calling and the Dallas Cowboys offense looked elite for the majority of the year.
Finally, Prescott and CeeDee Lamb found the perfect chemistry and emerged as arguably the top QB/WR tandem in the league.
Beyond Dak Prescott and the explosive offense that averaged 389 yards and 30 points per game and finished with 77 touchdowns in the regular season, the Dallas Cowboys had a defense that finished the season ranked 5th in the NFL.
After another disappointing early exit in the playoffs, the Dallas brass entered the offseason with more question marks than answers.
Initially, the expectation was Jerry Jones and company would sign Prescott to a contract extension to free up cap space and keep the core of their star players in place.
But in a recent development, reports have confirmed both Prescott and the Cowboys are going to let their franchise QB finish out his current deal, making him a free agent after 2024.
This leads to speculation about Prescott’s future in Dallas and rumors the Cowboys could actually move their franchise QB in a trade before the end of the 2024 season where he would hit free agency.
With Prescott’s future in Dallas clearly uncertain, FanSided’s Christopher Kline proposed a trade scenario where Dallas would make a play for the New Orleans Saints‘ QB Derek Carr.
“If Prescott bolts, this could be the Cowboys’ best chance to land a proven starter,” Kline wrote in a March 28 story. “Derek Carr has four Pro Bowl appearances on his resumé. He’s a high-volume gunner, unafraid of bold throws and capable of manufacturing explosive plays. The New Orleans Saints’ first season with Carr was a mild disaster, though. Carr was not always at fault, but when a talented team misses the playoffs, blame will naturally find its way to the QB.”
Carr is a solid quarterback who has been one of the more steady starters in the NFL over the past decade. He’s thrown for at least 21 touchdown passes in eight of his 10 seasons as a starter and has never started less than 15 games in a single season.
However, his overall record is lackluster — 72-87 — and he’s led a team to the playoffs only twice in his career. To top it all off, he’s never won a playoff game. That record won’t have Dallas Cowboys fans thrilled about the proposal considering the postseason is where Prescott has struggled the most.
It’s worth noting that Carr signed a four-year, $150 million deal with the Saints shortly after signing. He’s on the books for $40 million during the 2025 season and $50 million for the 2026 season.
To put that into perspective, Carr ranks as the sixth-highest paid quarterback for the 2025 season and the fourth-highest paid quarterback for the 2026 season. Prescott’s projected market value is $50.8 million per season across four years for a total of over $203 million.
The Dallas Cowboys Could Get Derek Carr Without Giving Up Too Much
If the Cowboys want to run the risk of allowing Prescott to enter free agency without signing him to a contract extension before the end of the season, there will likely be at least a couple of teams eager to sign Prescott. Despite his lack of playoff success — he’s 2-5 during his postseason career — he’s a three-time Pro Bowler coming off of a career season, leading the league in touchdown passes while placing second in MVP voting.
Kirk Cousins — a player of a similar caliber with a lack of postseason success — just signed a four-year, $180 million ($45 million per year) deal with the Atlanta Falcons at 35 years old and coming off of a season in which he tore his Achilles.
It’s worth noting that of all of the quarterback trades during the 2024 offseason, not a single one netted more than a third-round pick. In those two instances where a third-round pick was traded, a fourth-round pick was also given up in return.
Considering Carr will be 34 years old next year and factoring in his contract and lack of playoff success, it’s hard to imagine the The Dallas Cowboys surrendering more than a third-round pick for him in a potential trade scenario.
