MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 24: Dak Prescott #4 of the Dallas Cowboys reacts during the fourth quarter in the game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium on December 24, 2023 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
A fascinating trade proposal idea has the Dallas Cowboys trading Dak Prescott to an NFC rival, with a younger signal-caller coming to Texas as part of the return.

Dallas owner Jerry Jones has never hinted at wanting to move on from Prescott, who saw yet another promising season end with a disappointing postseason defeat. The 30-year-old is about to enter the last of a four-year, $160 million extension he signed in the 2021 offseason.

 

But the Cowboys’ stunning 48-32 Wild Card Round loss at home to the Green Bay Packers has led to calls for Jones to shake up his roster one way or another. And an interesting trade proposal has Jones doing just that by swapping Prescott for a younger and cheaper QB.

K.D. Drummond of USA Today’s Cowboys Wire site proposed the idea of the Cowboys sending Prescott to the Chicago Bears as part of a package deal that would bring Justin Fields over to Dallas:
“Adding Prescott instead of a rookie QB, gives Chicago instant credibility and a chance to make the playoffs right now. They have the No. 1 pick in the draft, which they could trade to the highest bidder among Washington and New England, and know they’ll still be able to get Marvin Harrison, Jr. to pair with DJ Moore, plus a bounty of picks to keep replenishing in other areas.

Grabbing Fields comes with little risk. His low 2023 salary ($2.3 million between base and roster bonus) is the best-case scenario in absorbing Prescott’s $62 million cap hit from a trade.

They could keep the picks and see if a QB falls to them, trade up for a top QB, or stay put and grab players at other positions and roll with the two youngsters. Dallas would now have both Fields and Lance under control for two seasons, and neither fifth-year option has to be enacted until after the draft, where Dallas now has the No. 9 and the No. 24 pick.  The amount of options that gives Dallas is innumerable.”

It’s certainly a fascinating proposal from Drummond, and it does make sense for both sides in a variety of ways. Chicago is loaded with draft capital thanks to the Carolina Panthers from last year’s blockbuster Bryce Young trade, so they’d be able to offer aplenty to America’s Team for Prescott.

 

As for the Cowboys, they’d secure extra draft capital and have the option to try out two promising young QBs in Fields and Trey Lance.

But it’s rather obvious what Jones will do, based on his track record over the last 28 years: Run it back with the same underachieving core, and in this case, a quarterback with a 2-5 career postseason record.