FRISCO — Last season was a lost one for the Dallas Cowboys who could not overcome the combined blows of injuries, stronger competition and a bad roster to make anything of the 2024 campaign. Those first two points are out of their control, but the latter came about from their own decision making.
The Cowboys promised "all in" last offseason before proceeding to do next to nothing in upgrading their personnel. They paid that price and floundered to the bottom of the standings.
It was also a disappointment in that they lost another year with quarterback Dak Prescott. A lackluster roster made his job harder before his job was done for the year when he suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
They should return him at his full capacity by Week 1 and have made the moves this offseason to give their franchise star a better chance of guiding them to a coveted championship.
However, some are not convinced about the Cowboys intentions and believe a trade of Prescott is still worth consideration for the team. Robert Mays tossed out the idea of shopping Prescott for picks on a recent episode of The Athletic Football Show.
"Let's just say you can get under (the financials), the Cowboys would trade Dak for the right price," Mays said on his podcast. "The Dak, Kyler (Murray) range is probably where I land, I think it's the right answer.
"If you called the Cowboys right now, again, if they traded him after June 1, in theory it would be possible. If you called the Cowboys right now like 'we'll five you three (first-round picks) for Dak, I think they would do it."
Actually entertaining the idea, a trade for Prescott is a gamble on another team's part given the injury history and the extraordinary cap hits he is set to have over the coming years. It would be an incredible investment of picks and capital for a player that has not made a conference championship
But more importantly, the Cowboys signed that massive extension because they believe Prescott is their ticket to ending their conference championship and Super Bowl drought. Their efforts to build around him have been subpar up until the last few months, but there is evidence they are trying.
Most notably, they traded for a strong No. 2 receiver in George Pickens while investing in their offensive line with the pick of Tyler Booker in the first round of the draft. Those two decisions are firmly based in a win-now mindset.
So no, there will be no trade of Prescott through this offseason and likely beyond. The Cowboys have their guy and will use the coming seasons to try to finally break through with him under center.