Since 2017, there hasn’t been much offseason drama around the quarterback position for the Dallas Cowboys. But between Dak Prescott’s future and Trey Lance’s presence, the intrigue for this year’s training camp will be the highest we’ve seen in some time. While there’s plenty to watch in Oxnard in 2024, QB topics will dominate the discussions.
Prescott has never gone into camp with hovering questions about his future in Dallas. Even when he played on the franchise tag in 2020 a long-term deal seemed inevitable. He got it the following March and has enjoyed unrivaled status as the Cowboys’ starting QB since taking the mantle from Tony Romo midway through his rookie year.
But now Prescott is set to enter camp with that contract expiring, a clause that prevents him from being franchised next year, and the Cowboys leaving lots of room to doubt their intention to re-sign him. Like his head coach, Prescott is currently in “lame duck” territory in 2024. It will only further the typical media and fan fervor around him, with some ravenous for Dallas to make a change and others terrified of the idea of the Cowboys searching for a new quarterback.
Only amping this up more is a new quarterback, Trey Lance, who is about to start his first Cowboys training camp. Dallas added the former third-overall pick in a trade last year with the 49ers, which came in late August and meant we never saw Lance in a preseason game or even heard much from in practices. He never saw action during the regular season, keeping Lance as a mysterious figure going into 2024.
That the Cowboys even made the uncharacteristic move to acquire Lance, especially with Cooper Rush already here as a capable backup, naturally intensifies the conversation around Prescott’s future. Did they give up a fourth-round pick to eventually replace their current starter with Lance, or was it just something that felt like a good deal at the time and perhaps a chance to flip him for a higher pick later?
If it was the latter, the window to profit from that deal is closing fast. Lance will be an unrestricted free agent in March and the trade deadline this year is November 5th. Now in the fourth year of his rookie contract, Lance counts a whopping $5.3 million against the salary cap. So Dallas is eating an exorbitant amount to keep him even in the primary backup role.
The trade for Lance has always felt like it was about more than just stocking the depth chart, and now the handling of Prescott’s contract validates the theory. But even if Dallas is thinking of Lance as their starter in 2025, he still has to prove that he’s a better QB2 for this year than Rush.
At every level, the quarterback position brings plenty to talk about over the next two months. We know Dak Prescott will be the starter this season, but beyond that is the great unknown. Trey Lance is the biggest name that Dallas has acquired at quarterback, at least in terms of draft hype, since Troy Aikman. But his fall from grace in San Francisco means there’s no guarantee that he’s the future here, or even the best option to be Prescott’s backup in the present. These uncertainties will make every camp report and preseason snap for the Cowboys’ passers attention-grabbers in the weeks ahead.