Cowboys Teammate Defends Dak Prescott Amid Replacement Talk

Getty Images Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis defended Dak Prescott after a former general manager predicted that Shedeur Sanders could replace him.

Prescott is heading into the final year of his contract and the negotiations on an extension have become contentious. It’s revved up speculation that Prescott could be playing for another team next season, with a lucrative free agent payday awaiting him.

Former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum suggested on ESPN’s Get Up that it’s more likely Sanders, currently the starting quarterback at Colorado, will be leading the Cowboys next season instead of Dak Prescott.

“There’s a better chance, in my opinion, that Shedeur Sanders could be the quarterback there next year than Dak Prescott at this point,” Tannenbaum said

Lewis took exception to the comment and responded on social media.

“There’s a better chance, in my opinion, that Shedeur Sanders could be the quarterback [for the Cowboys] next year than Dak Prescott at this point.”

😯 @RealTannenbaum pic.twitter.com/mRaGnnrH2L

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) August 30, 2024

“I can’t emphasize enough how much I can’t stand you mfs,” Lewis wrote on X.

Dak Prescott Took Shot at Jerry Jones Amid Negotiations

Jones recently gave an update on Prescott’s contract talks. Dallas hopes to have the talks wrapped up by the opening kickoff of the season. The Cowboys owner had an interesting way of explaining his thinking around Prescott’s next. deal.

“You could easily say, if you hadn’t seen it by now, you haven’t seen it,” Jones told reporters, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “Needing to see, I just gave an explanation where when you look at a situation, you’ve also got to weigh, ‘OK, what are the consequences of the other side of the coin?’ Dak’s situation right now for me has more to do with our situation than it does with the merits of Dak Prescott being the quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.

“I quit a long time ago getting bent out of shape about having anybody under contract or not,” he added. “There are all kinds of things other than a contract that could change the outcome of him being under contract: injury, level of play. So you can’t just pick that and say that should give you a better feeling about our team or me a better feeling. The whole thing has a lot of moving parts.”

Prescott, now in his eighth season with the Cowboys. He has grown weary of keeping track of Jones’s comments to the media.

“I stopped, honestly, listening to things (Jerry Jones) says to the media a long time ago. It doesn’t really hold weight with me,” Prescott said, seemingly in response to Jones’ latest comments.

Dak Prescott Has All the Leverage Over Cowboys

Prescott is in a strong negotiating position and doesn’t need to rush into a deal before the season begins. While securing a contract now would protect him against the risk of injury impacting his value, if he remains healthy and performs well, Prescott could command a contract that sets a new benchmark for quarterbacks.

“Make no mistake, he literally has all the leverage,” NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport said on Monday. “The Cowboys would clearly like to get a long-term deal done. If it gets done, he is no doubt going to be the new highest-paid quarterback in the NFL.

“Here are the options. It is either take a deal that resets the quarterback market — something that Dak Prescott is proud of, that his agent is proud of, that the union knows is a great deal. Or just go be the biggest free agent in NFL history. Those are really the options for Dak Prescott.”

J.R. DeGroote covers the Cleveland Browns and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com. He graduated from Arizona State and has decades of experience in digital media with previous stops at SBNation and Bleacher Report. He has won multiple state, regional and national honors for sports reporting and photography. More about J.R. DeGroote