Forward of his eleventh season, Dak Prescott is Dallas’ longest-tenured participant on the present roster. Although nonetheless a bit behind Jason Witten and L.P. Ladouceur for the all-time mark of 16 seasons, Prescott is much extra involved with a unique purpose. Like all Cowboys followers, his focus is on becoming a member of Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman as the one quarterbacks to convey Tremendous Bowl wins to the franchise.
Years in NFL: 10Acquired by: 2016 4th-round decide
Few NFL gamers have a extra well-known story. Prescott was a mid-range QB prospect in 2016, seen as a developmental challenge at finest. When the Cowboys chosen him within the fourth spherical, there was little thought that he was their QB of the longer term, and even the first backup. However a coaching camp harm to Kellen Extra allowed Prescott to develop into the first backup. Then Tony Romo’s harm within the third preseason recreation, plus Prescott’s dazzling performances in these August video games, cleared the way in which for him to be an sudden Week 1 rookie starter.
Prescott set two rookie QB data in 2016: most wins (13) and the best passer ranking (104.9) in a single season. Although Romo was able to return in Week 11, Dallas’ eight-game profitable streak stored Prescott as QB1. And as we all know, he’s held the job ever since.
We’ve watched Prescott develop as a passer since that first 12 months. When Moore turned offensive coordinator in 2019, it opened up the offense and helped Prescott begin placing up a lot larger numbers. He went from 3,885 passing yards the 12 months earlier than to a career-high 4,902, plus his first season with a minimum of 30 passing touchdowns. Even below new coaches and coordinators since then, Prescott has remained one of many NFL’s most efficient, high-volume statistical quarterbacks.
Like the remainder of the group, although, Prescott’s profession has been extra acknowledged for playoff failures than regular-season success. Like Romo, he’s by no means been previous the second spherical. And whereas he’s had a few nice postseason performances, Prescott has additionally struggled extra usually than he’s shined. For a franchise that defines itself by Tremendous Bowl wins, Prescott’s legacy remains to be a part of a better ongoing story that’s been torturing Cowboys followers since 1996.
Going into this season, Prescott is much more entrenched in his beginning function than Romo was 10 years in the past. His status as a pacesetter and one of many NFL’s finest human beings is unquestioned, and he’s nonetheless anticipated to do massive issues for fantasy house owners. However all of that’s window dressing to the group’s success, and what Prescott does to both assist or damage them in these final targets.
Years Left: 32026 Cap Hit: $44.6 million
For a lot of, Prescott’s contract is the catalyst for criticism. If he had been solely making $33 million per 12 months like Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold, he’d be a lot much less maligned. However when the Cowboys made him the most costly participant in NFL historical past (since handed by Pat Mahomes) in 2021, they opened the door to Prescott’s efficiency usually being in contrast in opposition to his compensation.
One of many largest points with the contract is that, to conduct different enterprise, Dallas has needed to constantly restructure the deal to cut back wage cap hits. This has made Prescott nearly untouchable by way of job safety: even the ultimate 12 months of the deal in 2028 nonetheless has over $55 million in useless cash presently. You don’t thoughts that when a man is profitable Tremendous Bowls, but it surely’s a lot more durable to swallow given Prescott’s postseason report.
Position: Beginning QBRoster Probability: 100%
Whereas they’ve dabbled with reclaiming Trey Lance or growing Joe Milton, the Cowboys have but to make any main addition to their QB pipeline throughout Prescott’s run. That turns into more and more regarding as he turns 33 later this month, nearing the precipice for profession decline. Whereas we’ve develop into extra used to quarterbacks beginning of their late-30s and typically even 40s, it’s exhausting to challenge when Prescott’s effectiveness goes to drop off.
Since 2020, Prescott has had an off-and-on relationship with the injured reserve listing. He missed 11 video games that 12 months together with his main leg harm, 5 video games in 2022, and 9 video games in 2024. The sample does increase eyebrows in the case of 2026: is Prescott due for one more massive harm? The older and extra worn-and-torn he will get, the chances solely improve.
Coming off of final 12 months, although, there’s much more concern in regards to the Cowboys’ protection. Prescott and the offense bought a move from many in 2025, usually thought-about to be sabotaged by the opposite facet of the ball. The hope this season is that Dallas’ work to a minimum of get defensively solvent once more elevated the general stability, permitting the statistical success of the offense to translate to extra wins and hopefully a return to the playoffs.
Try our earlier participant profiles from this sequence:
