A “bold” scenario would see the Dallas Cowboys deal Dak Prescott at the trade deadline during the 2024 season.
As part of a series of “bold predictions” from Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon, one of the scenarios would see the Cowboys unload Prescott to a team desperate for a quarterback.
“Quarterbacks rarely move in the middle of seasons, but most of the ingredients are there in this case,” Gagnon wrote on June 21. “Now, if a contender were to suffer a major injury at quarterback, or if a team like Las Vegas or Seattle finds itself in contention in spite of what it has at quarterback, a deadline blockbuster involving Prescott could come to fruition.”
Gagnon noted that the scenario is predicated Dallas falling out of contention (Gagnon mentions the Philadelphia Eagles as the clear favorite in the NFC East), potentially leading to the Cowboys deciding to move the three-time Pro Bowl quarterback as he goes through the final season of his contract.
Why the Cowboys Would Trade Dak Prescott
The Cowboys and Prescott are embroiled in a contract impasse. While Dallas remains adamant that they want to get a long-term deal done with their franchise quarterback, there has been little traction in contract talks. That’s not even mentioning how the Cowboys still have to get long-term deals done with CeeDee Lamb and Micah Parsons.
As Gagnon mentions, Prescott’s lack of postseason success – he’s 2-5 in the playoffs and has never advanced past the divisional round – may play a major role in the Cowboys deciding to move on from the 30-year-old quarterback.
“And if that happens, the organization could very well decide it’s time to move on from Prescott, who has been part of just two playoff wins and has thrown four interceptions in the team’s last two postseason losses,” writes Gagnon.
There’s little doubt that Prescott will garner a big-money deal if he were to enter the free agency market. According to Spotrac, his projected market value is $53.1 million per year across four years for a total of over $212 million. That would make Prescott the second-highest paid quarterback in the NFL.
Considering Kirk Cousins – a quarterback who is even older than Prescott and has just one career playoff win to his name – just signed a four-year, $180 million contract with the Atlanta Falcons after coming off an Achilles tear, Prescott – who finished as the runner-up in MVP voting during the 2023 season – will likely sign an even bigger deal if he were to enter free agency in 2025.
Why the Seahawks Would Trade for Dak Prescott
If the Cowboys don’t want to pay Prescott north of $50 million per year, dealing him to a team such as the Seahawks could be beneficial for both sides. Although Seattle is technically an NFC contender, they could package draft assets along with potential veteran pieces to sweeten the deal for Dallas.
The Seahawks currently feature Geno Smith as their starting quarterback, but he has never won a playoff game in his career. And although he has played in the Pro Bowl over the past two seasons, he has never proven to be a consistent winning quarterback during his 11 seasons in the NFL. In fact, prior to the 2022 season, Smith had not served as a full-time starting quarterback since the 2014 season.
Smith’s numbers declined across the board in 2023 compared to his Comeback Player of the Year season in 2022. With a new regime – head coach Mike Macdonald and offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb are entering their first years in Seattle – Smith’s hold on the starting quarterback job may not be very strong.
Considering the Seahawks already have one of the better offensive supporting casts in the league with three legit receivers – DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett and Jaxon Smith-Njigba – and a productive running back duo in Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet, Prescott may be the missing piece to lift the Seahawks over the top.
