Stephen Jones: Cowboys expect Dak Prescott to quarterback team for next '10 years'

The Dallas Cowboys already have plenty of changes to grapple with after the non-renewals and departures of eight members of the coaching staff. More will come throughout the offseason as the team works through a list of 20 free agents. One piece of the team that will remain constant, however, is quarterback Dak Prescott.

Although Dallas potentially has some negotiating, restructuring or extending to do on the star’s contract before next season, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said on Wednesday at the Senior Bowl that they hope Prescott will be around for another 10 years.

“Dak is going to be our guy for, hopefully, the next 10 years,” Jones said. “You say that’s a long time because he’s already played six or seven, but I think Dak will play that long because he takes care of himself, and he’s driven to be great. And we fully expect him to be here for 10 years.”

Prescott is currently locked in through 2024 but he has a massive cap hit coming in 2023, making a contract extension one of the more palatable options for Dallas. As of now, he would get $31 million in 2023 in fully guaranteed money with a cap hit of $49.13 million. Extending his contract would give him a nice signing bonus and knock down his 2023 salary.

Another option is a contract restructuring. The Cowboys could save roughly $22 million in cap space for 2023. However, the dead money would come into play eventually in 2025.

Cowboys plan to take quarterback in 2023 NFL Draft

Team owner Jerry Jones revealed on Wednesday that Dallas intends to draft a quarterback this year during the 2023 NFL Draft, according to Calvin Watkins. He also admitted that he believes it’s been a mistake not to do so every year.

The Cowboys have only drafted two quarterbacks in the seven years since they took Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. They also haven’t drafted a quarterback in a round higher than the fifth since Prescott.

In 2018, Dallas drafted Mike White with a fifth-round pick out of Western Kentucky. White has played in eight games so far in his NFL career, all with the Jets.

The most recent quarterback drafted by the Cowboys was Ben DiNucci in the seventh round of the 2020 draft. Dallas waved DiNucci in August of 2022 after he played in three games. He completed 23 of 43 passes for 219 yards.

The Cowboys have plenty of opportunity to scoop up a new signal-caller. They could have draft picks in each of the seven rounds, depending on the compensatory picks. Their first pick overall will come at No. 26.