Are Cowboys sending a message to Dak Prescott ahead of the draft?

“With what we’ve heard from the Cowboys in the last 24 hours, Dak Prescott is in his last season with Dallas if he doesn’t step up,” Smith said. “…It was reported they are ‘intrigued’ by CJ Stroud. … The other QB they were linked to today was Hendon Hooker, it was reported they did a lot of research on him. … If the Cowboys wanted to part with a 30-year old Dak Prescott after this year, a team would definitely be down to do that. This is the Cowboys putting a warning on Dak.”

With a $52.13 million cap hit in 2024, the Cowboys could get out from the final year of Prescott's massive contract relatively unscathed with a post-June 1 cut. They would eat $18 million in dead money but gain $34 million in cap savings.

Prescott is coming off arguably his worst season since entering the NFL in 2016. He threw a career-high 15 interceptions and posted his second-lowest passer rating. The Cowboys ranked second in the NFL in passing offense in 2021 but fell to 14th this year.

Although Prescott is a two-time Pro Bowler, backup Cooper Rush proved Dallas could still win without him, posting a 4-1 record as the starter when Prescott went down with an early-season hand injury.

Dallas holds the 27th overall pick in the draft (technically the 26th pick since Miami forfeited its 21st overall pick). A move up for Stroud, who’s projected to be drafted anywhere from second to ninth overall, would certainly be costly. Hooker, on the other hand, is projected to be a taken in the second round, making him a much more feasible option. The Cowboys have the 58th overall pick in the second round.