The Dallas Cowboys have a "Trey Lance Plan,'' and one that comes into focus even more clearly now that we have the new NFL salary cap number and with it, the locked-in salary figures in categories ranging from "franchise tags'' to "fifth-year options.''
And with that, the Cowboys now officially know quarterback Lance’s fifth-year option value ... and a reinforcement of their concept of what to do with it ... and with Lance himself.
The "fifth-year option'' this year applies to the 2021 NFL Draft Class, where Lance was the third overall pick by San Francisco. In the cases of those players, they are under contract for 2024 (the fourth year of their rookie deals), and their teams can place them under contract for an additional year by giving them a league-determined boost in fifth-year salary.
The new number is official, at $22.408 million for Lance in 2025.
And no, a source stresses to CowboysSI.com, paying him that is not in the master plan here inside The Star.
That, however, should not be taken as a sign that the trade is a failure. It was meant as a “dart throw,” and it remains that.
Dallas gave a fourth-round pick here, so it can pretend that it “took him” in this upcoming NFL Draft.
What’s next? In the most grandiose scenario, we suppose Dallas declines to commit long-term to Dak Prescott while at the same time unveiling a Lance at OTAs and then at training camp. … and then after 2024, they allow Dak to leave and replace him with Lance.
What’s wrong with that idea? Besides it being unlikely that Lance would “beat out” Dak, after 2024 they’d both be free … and the Cowboys would likely have to spend way more than $22.4 million to retain the younger player.
Two more realistic scenarios …
1 - No, Prescott doesn’t get outplayed by Lance. But the latter player shows such promise this summer that Dallas is able to trade him (or Cooper Rush) in exchange for value in excess of a fourth-round pick.
That would be “winning the trade.”
2 - The Cowboys convince Lance to sign a new contract to serve as Dak’s backup/caddie/heir/whatever.
Would a young player buy that concept and thus bypass a chance to compete for a starting job elsewhere? It’s not unprecedented … and we’re told it is part of Dallas’ thought process here.
So bank on this; Lance carries just a $5.3 million cap number for this upcoming season (but his salary is guaranteed). So the experiment continues to be in play. The “dart” is still in play.
But per the present plan, Dallas holding Lance’s rights for 2025 by exercising his fifth-year option is not.
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