TAMPA, Florida – Dak Prescott is not going anywhere.
Sources say the Dallas Cowboys will make an effort to sign their quarterback on a long-term contract before the March 9 deadline for applying the franchise etiquette – a sign that they are confident in Prescott’s continued recovery from various surgeries. on the ankle he fractured in October.
If no deal is reached, the Cowboys will score Prescott a second time at a cost of about $ 37.7 million to prevent him from reaching the free agent market, according to sources.
Dallas made a similar effort last season, both in March and before the July 15 deadline to sign franchise contracts for several years. But the sides failed to reach an agreement and Prescott, 27, played the season with $ 31.409 million.
Prescott suffered an open fracture and dislocation of his right ankle on October 11 in a victory over the New York Giants, leaving the field in a cart and in tears. He underwent surgery that night, during which doctors’ main concern was preventing infection, and they did so successfully.
Sources say Prescott underwent a second – and unreported – procedure on the ankle about two months later to strengthen the deltoid ligament, clean the ankle and make it structurally more solid. This procedure was not directly related to the October surgery; instead, doctors identified problems related to previous injuries to the same ankle, and as soon as the risk of infection was eliminated, they returned to clean up the rest.
After the second surgery in early December, Prescott had to take about a week off from rehab to allow the wound to heal, but it has improved ankle stability and integrity and is expected to speed up his overall recovery, according to sources. He is now walking smoothly, doing weightlifting exercises and must be ready for action long before the start of the 2021 season.
That’s one reason why there are no medical concerns, the sources say, for the Cowboys when it comes to offering Prescott a nine-digit contract that would place him among the highest-paid players in the NFL. At the very least, Prescott is considered a little ahead of what was initially defined as a four to six month recovery.
Making a long-term deal now would help Cowboys from a salary cap perspective at a time when NFL teams are preparing for the cap to drop in 2021, as they could distribute the signing bonus for several years instead to carry the entire $ 37,690,800 tag in their cap for months in hopes of making a deal in July.
It remains to be seen whether Prescott is motivated to make a deal soon after betting on himself with one-year deals for the past two seasons.