Cowboys targeting 'a young quarterback in the draft,' Stephen Jones says
The Cowboys received a glimpse into life without Dak Prescott during the 2024 season after placing the star quarterback on injured reserve with a season-ending hamstring injury.
Given his contract situation, Prescott isn't going anywhere, but changes in Dallas' quarterback room are looming with free agency and the 2025 NFL draft.
The Cowboys have 25 pending free agents including quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Trey Lance next month at the start of the new league year. There's a likelihood neither will return to Dallas, according to Stephen Jones, Cowboys' chief operating officer and co-owner. That means the draft opens the door for a new passer.
"You know, I think one of our goals is to get a young quarterback in the draft," Jones said via Dallas Morning News. “I don’t know where that’s going to be. That’s why we gave a [fourth-round pick] for Trey. It seems like all the quarterbacks, even guys we have in the fourth round, go in the first. They always go so much higher than what you think."
With both backups set to hit free agency, the Cowboys and new head coach Brian Schottenheimer will look to April’s draft as a place to add someone behind Prescott.
"We took a shot at Trey and wanted to do that," Jones said.
Lance, whom the team acquired from the 49ers for a fourth-round pick before the 2023 season, filled the backup role after Prescott's injury. Jones said Lance is "probably going to be looking for something different" after two years as the third-string QB in Dallas.
Rush was thrust into the starting role following the injury to Prescott, similar to 2022 when he made five starts after Prescott broke his thumb. Rush went 4-1 in those 2022 starts and 4-4 in eight games in 2024.
Jones acknowledged they could be priced out on Rush in free agency, saying they "just don’t know what he’s going to cost."
"When we’re paying Dak what we’re paying him, unfortunately, we do have to go cheap there," he added.
Dallas signed Prescott to a long-term contract, meaning the starting quarterback job likely isn't up for grabs in 2025.
It's worth noting that even though the Cowboys are looking for a potential backup passer on Day 2 or 3 in this year's draft, Prescott was a fourth-round pick who eventually found himself in the starting role his rookie season.
Dak Prescott contract details
Prescott signed a record-breaking contract extension with the Cowboys on the eve of the 2024 NFL season. The terms of the deal were as follows, per Spotrac.com:
- Term: Four years
- Total value: $240 million
- Average annual value (AAV): $60 million
- Guaranteed money: $231 million
Prescott is tied to the Cowboys through the 2028 season.
Prescott will carry an annual cap hit of at least $62 million per year as part of his extension. Dallas could bear those costs by restructuring his contract which has become familiar with the massive NFL contracts.
Paste BN Sports' Jacob Camenker contributed to this article.