Troy Aikman lobbies for Dallas Cowboys to extend Dak Prescott

Dak Prescott may or may not be playing his final season with the Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones is sending mixed messages about the long-time Dallas quarterback.

Yet Troy Aikman, a Hall of Fame quarterback for the Cowboys, says his old team must extend Prescott. It is a no brainer, at least in his opinion. Some Dallas fans, who still are seething about the loss to the Packers, may not think it’s such a slam dunk.

“I’ve been listening to you guys on television and radio, I mean, they got to do his deal, don’t they?” Aikman asked reporters who gathered for an event with both Aikman and Prescott.

“Don’t we got to free up some money? So he’ll be here for a little while longer and he should be. He’s proven he can play at a high level. I know that they’ve come up short as a team the last few years, but he’s been a great player in this league and his best years are still ahead of him.”

Aikman retired from football long ago. But he is the lead analyst for Monday Night Football, so he remains close to the game. He didn’t mention that Prescott will turn 31 days after the Cowboys open training camp this summer. Prescott has started every season since the Cowboys selected him in with the 135th pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

Has Dak Prescott hit his ceiling with Cowboys? Aikman says no

It remains to be seen when Prescott will hit his ceiling, but the quarterback did have a good year for the Cowboys. The team won a dozen games and Prescott finished second to Lamar Jackson for NFL MVP honors.

But the Cowboys finished the season in an all too familiar way. They lost early in the playoffs. In fact, the Packers, the last team to qualify for the NFC bracket, knocked around Dallas at AT&T Stadium in the opening round.

Prescott was the seventh oldest starting quarterback to begin last season. But several of the thirty somethings starting quarterbacks are having issues. Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins are getting over Achilles injuries, with Cousins becoming a free agent next week. Plus, Russell Wilson also will be switching teams. Matthew Stafford is the only one who won a recent Super Bowl and that was three seasons ago. We know Tom Brady repped the old guys well, but he is retired.

Meanwhile, Aikman did not mention that before he hit 30, he had already won three Super Bowls with the Cowboys.