When it comes to quarterbacks being on the hot seat, it's hard to imagine the Dallas Cowboys are looking at Dak Prescott as a potential benching candidate in 2025.
The former fourth-round pick will return under center as the guaranteed starter, coming off a long injury recovery. Although Prescott couldn't get a full season in last year, he left the field with a 3-5 record, throwing for under 2,000 yards and posting his worst passer rating.
There's a bad taste left, and it's caused some questions about his ability to be the guy to get the Cowboys to the NFL's biggest stage.
While listing out the NFL's hot seat rankings for the quarterback position, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio mentioned Prescott. Although he made it clear that Prescott probably isn't actually on the hot seat in Dallas, the reason behind that doesn't have anything to do with his play, however.
"He's probably not on the hot seat, because his $60 million per year contract would wreak havoc on the salary cap if the Cowboys were to cut or trade him," Florio wrote.
"The complication for the Cowboys is that his $45 million salary for 2027 becomes fully guaranteed on the fifth day of the 2026 league year. They're basically stuck - all because they waited too long to give him his second contract, and then waited too long to give him his third contract."
Reality is striking for Dallas. Prescott will be 35 in 2028, when he's set to make a base salary of $55 million. That's a large investment in the quarterback, and it's really in their best interest to see it through at this point.
Here's the good news for the Cowboys: Prescott's last full season was among his best.
The eight-game run in 2024 surely wasn't promising, but the 17-game stretch in 2023 involved some league-leading stats for the QB. Prescott completed an NFL-high 410 passes and tossed for 36 touchdowns, which also led the NFL. He threw just nine interceptions after throwing 15 the year prior.
In 2023, the Cowboys achieved a 12-5 record. Prescott completed a career-high 70 percent of his passes for 4,516 yards. He also rushed 55 times for 242 yards and two touchdowns.
With the Cowboys adding another notable weapon in George Pickens, Prescott has plenty to work with in the passing game in 2025. His value might be at its lowest after a rough season, but the Cowboys are unlikely to view Prescott as on the hot seat at this time.
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