The NFL announced training camp report dates and locations for each team Tuesday. The Dallas Cowboys will travel July 23 to Oxnard, Calif., and report for practice July 24.
Will CeeDee Lamb end his holdout and arrive with his teammates? Will Dak Prescott begin camp on the final year of his deal? Will Micah Parsons enter camp underpaid for his services?
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On the surface, this is the time of the NFL calendar when very little, if anything, is happening. Behind the scenes, there’s unfinished business for the Cowboys’ front office. How much of that business will get completed?
Let’s examine each contract situation, why it hasn’t been resolved yet, and how close the two sides may or may not be.
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Dak Prescott
Why hasn’t a deal happened yet?
Of the three players, the Cowboys have the largest sample size with Prescott. The franchise quarterback has had seven complete seasons in the NFL, not counting his injury-shortened campaign in 2020. Prescott has led the Cowboys to the postseason in five of those seasons, culminating in two playoff wins. He has never taken a snap past the divisional round.
For some, it may seem foolish to get cute with last season’s MVP runner-up and a guy who’s proved to be a franchise quarterback in a league that doesn’t have many to go around. For others, the multiple shortcomings on the biggest stages, including January’s wild-card demolition, are enough to take the risk of falling to obscurity if it means a change and chance at a big-game solution.
The Prescott situation is arguably the most nuanced of the three. Prescott indeed has a ton of leverage, given his status as a proven franchise quarterback, along with a no-trade clause and no-franchise-tag stipulation. It’s also true the price doesn’t go down the longer you wait.
But paying Prescott now, or even earlier in the offseason, was going to be a hefty price. Perhaps Jerry Jones and the Cowboys deem the difference between that tag and the one they’d have to pay Prescott after the season if he leads the Cowboys on a deep playoff run worth waiting for to gather that extra data point in January. If another postseason failure follows, maybe it’s the Cowboys who feel content with a divorce and diving into uncertain waters, no matter how great the risk may be.
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Does it get done before training camp?
The Cowboys have publicly stated multiple times that they envision a future with Prescott. Prescott has stated that he wants to be a Cowboy, though he’s also expressed contentment with his future, even if it’s not in Dallas.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said he has no fears about his NFL future, whether it’s in Dallas or somewhere else pic.twitter.com/VKDVNEqVE8
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) April 19, 2024
However, a deal at this point, especially if it comes around the expected price of $55 million per year, would raise more question marks. By waiting it out until next offseason, the Cowboys could explain it as wanting to see more from Prescott. If a new deal at market value gets done before training camp, there will be questions of why it didn’t get done earlier this offseason when the Cowboys could have done something with the cap space it would create. What changed between March and June or July?
Given how valuable the quarterback position is, a new deal getting done before training camp wouldn’t be shocking, but it certainly would come with a longer list of questions.
CeeDee Lamb
Why hasn’t a deal happened yet?
Before the draft, when the Cowboys’ brass was asked about its concern about prices going up the longer it waited, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones had a defensive response.
“I can assure you, if we felt like we could get a number that was a good number — because unfortunately, as we all know, representatives talk to each other,” Jones said. “You don’t think the representatives of (Justin) Jefferson and CeeDee and (Ja’Marr) Chase aren’t talking? You don’t think they don’t have their eye on something really big? Please. They’re not ready to come in here. Same thing with Micah. Same thing with Dak. It’s just a little cat-and-mouse. Total respect for them.”
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That comment from Stephen Jones came in the same news conference in which Jerry Jones said, “We’d like to see more leaves fall.” Arguably, the biggest leaf of that trio fell when Jefferson signed a huge extension with the Minnesota Vikings.
If Lamb’s representatives were waiting out the market, their strategy was successful. For the Cowboys, there isn’t much left to negotiate. Lamb is a talented, ascending player who has improved each year he’s been in the league. The language and numbers could differ slightly from what Jefferson got, but the framework is there for both sides.
Does it get done before training camp?
Of the three contracts in question for the Cowboys, Lamb’s is the most likely to get done before training camp. There are the least amount of questions with Lamb. There could be some discussion about a wide receiver’s value if there’s uncertainty for the future at quarterback, but Lamb will be an asset for years to come, whether it’s for Prescott or his successor.
As mentioned, the framework is already in place. Unlike Prescott, who is entering the final year of a rich contract, Lamb is entering the final year of his rookie deal. Lamb has taken a stance by holding out of offseason activities. Given an extension feels inevitable, it would behoove the Cowboys to get it done before late July so that training camp doesn’t begin with any lingering, avoidable distractions.
Micah Parsons
Why hasn’t a deal happened yet?
There is no urgency on either side. On NFL Network in February, Parsons conceded, “I know they gotta get CeeDee Lamb done. I think that’s the priority right now,” adding that he’s “not going to rush the process.”
Through three years in the NFL, Parsons has been first-team All-Pro twice and second-team All-Pro once. He has good reason to feel confident that waiting things out only plays in his favor as other deals around the league get signed, raising the floor for his next deal. On the Cowboys’ side, they still have two years of control to play with, including the fifth-year option for 2025 that they picked up earlier this offseason.
Does it get done before training camp?
Parsons getting a contract extension done before training camp next month would be the most surprising of the three. Waiting things out at least until next spring makes sense for both sides. For Parsons, the more his peers sign the dotted line, the richer he gets.
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For the Cowboys, not only would it be beneficial to see Parsons produce at his early-season rate later in the season, but they can also get a better feel for the state of the franchise. Do they end up backing up the truck for Prescott? What do they make of major looming decisions, such as Tyler Smith and DaRon Bland? Does Parsons, at his expected tag, provide the greatest value for the Cowboys as a pass rusher or as a trade asset?
Pass rusher is a premium position, and Parsons is one of the best in the league, which makes him tremendously valuable. Whether the Cowboys are set up to contend and need to examine how to allocate their cap space or if they are trying to go through an on-the-fly retool will say a lot about Parsons’ value.
(Photo of CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott: Sam Hodde / Getty Images)
Saad Yousuf is a staff writer covering the Dallas Cowboys and Dallas Stars. He also works at 96.7/1310 The Ticket in Dallas after five years at ESPN Dallas radio. Prior to The Athletic, Saad covered the Cowboys for WFAA, the Mavericks for Mavs.com and a variety of sports at The Dallas Morning News, ESPN.com and SB Nation. Follow Saad on Twitter @SaadYousuf126
