Cowboys news: Dallas plans to keep Dak Prescott around
Cowboys VP mum on ‘details, timing’ of Dak Prescott deal – Todd Archer, ESPN.com
Even though the Dallas Cowboys are hush hush on the timing, the intention is for Dak Prescott to get a new extension.
The end result for the Dallas Cowboys is for Dak Prescott to be their quarterback of the present and future.
How they get that resolution with Prescott entering the final year of his contract is something executive vice president Stephen Jones does not want to discuss.
“I won’t expound on any details, timing, any of that,” Jones said in a 25-minute sessions Tuesday with Dallas media from the NFL scouting combine.
Prescott is set to make $29 million in base salary and has a $5 million roster bonus due on the fifth day of the new league year. Through clauses in his contract, the Cowboys cannot trade Prescott without his OK and cannot use the franchise tag on him in 2025.
It sets up a scenario without an extension that this could be Prescott’s final year with the Cowboys, although Jones does not even think about Prescott being elsewhere.
“Our whole thing with Dak is him being a Cowboy,” Jones said. “That’s all that’s on our mind. Certainly don’t get into those type of thoughts.”
Cowboys say they don’t need a culture change. Their defense is about to get one anyway – Michael Gehlken, Dallas Morning News
New coordinator Mike Zimmer is about to bring a tough-nosed approach to the defense.
Dan Quinn was instrumental in transforming a unit that, despite a poor performance in a January playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, morphed into one of the league’s top defenses over the past three seasons. While new coordinator Mike Zimmer doesn’t plan a schematic overhaul, Jones conceded the energy in the building has changed.
Zimmer operates with a particular tone.
“I think it’s very no-nonsense, hold people very accountable to everything,” Jones said. “Not that Dan — I don’t want this to be a ‘Dan wasn’t’ — I just think Mike, the best way to say it is he’s got that edge in terms of how he goes about coaching and how he goes about working with his players.”
How the temperature in Zimmer’s tone manifests won’t be seen until the spring.
While some veterans routinely appear beforehand, players are not scheduled to report to Ford Center at The Star until the April start of voluntary workouts. That leaves Zimmer several weeks before he can address players in a meeting and an additional two weeks until, under the collective bargaining agreement, he can share a field with them.
So, it is early.
Yet there is a distinctly different air today when some Cowboys officials discuss the defense’s future direction, a sense that maybe some leeway afforded will be retracted or, perhaps better phrased, general screws will be tightened.
Cowboys Predicted to Sign Panthers LB to Address ‘Biggest Need’ – Evan Reier, Heavy.com
The linebacker position could really be upgraded through free agency.
The Cowboys tried several solutions for the LB group in 2023, but nothing really stuck. That’s why Pro Football Network’s John Fields believes the team will pursue Panthers LB Frankie Luvu.
“Linebacker was far and away the Cowboys’ biggest concern throughout the 2023 season as injuries left the room plenty thin, and it looks to require a significant overhaul this offseason,” Fields wrote on February 25. “Luvu would be a strong piece to anchor the room after carving out a key role over the last two seasons with the Carolina Panthers… Although the Panthers may make a push at bringing him back, joining a Dallas team that’s more likely to contend, and playing a key role in that pursuit, could appeal to Luvu.”
Luvu is just now entering his prime at 27 years old, which means he’s expecting a sizable deal. But in terms of filling the Cowboys’ absence at linebacker, there may not be a better candidate.
From Undrafted Free Agent to Panthers Starter
Luvu first entered the NFL in the 2018 draft cycle as a Washington State product, but went undrafted. The New York Jets picked him up shortly after, and he went on to make the team’s practice squad before being elevated for 14 appearances that year.
Over three years in New York, Luvu only started 4 games but got plenty of developmental experience with 40 total appearances. Looking for a more significant opportunity led him to Carolina in 2021.
Should Cowboys Sign Super Bowl LB Shaquille Barrett, Cut by Bucs? – Richie Whitt, Cowboys Country
Could the Cowboys go after a Super Bowl champion to add on defense?
Could Shaquille Barrett be the Dallas Cowboys’ missing linebacker link?
The two-time Super Bowl champion and former All-Pro and Pro Bowl star is being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a cost-cutting move. Barrett had a $15 million bonus due next month, but instead will become a free agent. By designating him as a post-June 1 release, the Bucs are saving $5 million under the salary cap.
The 31-year-old played his first five seasons with the Denver Broncos before signing as a free agent with Tampa Bay in 2019. In the last five years he produced 45 sacks and forced 15 fumbles and was a key cog on the defense that harassed Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LV.
It was Barrett who pressured Dak Prescott in the 2022 season opener, forcing a fractured thumb that forced the Cowboys’ quarterback to miss five games.
The Cowboys are desperate for help at linebacker. Vander Esch’s future is in limbo after another neck injury that ended his 2023 season after Week 6. They pursued Leonard late last season after his surprising release by the Indianapolis Colts, but he instead signed with the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Ed. Note: Recently we noted the sad passing of Mark Lane, a contributor here at BTB and at many Cowboys media sites over the years. We wanted to let everyone know you can donate to a scholarship fund in Mark Lane’s honor here.
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