Dallas Cowboys decline Trey Lance’s 5th-year option, officially have no QB signed for 2025
The Dallas Cowboys are officially a team without a leader for 2025.
As expected, the team declined to pick up the fifth-year option in quarterback Trey Lance’s contract on Thursday, the last day to do so.
With starter Dak Prescott and backup Cooper Rush also in the final year of their deals in 2024, the team has no quarterback under contract for 2025.
That could change if the Cowboys sign Prescott to a long-term contract extension as is their stated plan.
But there have been no negotiations as of yet.
Prescott has a $59.4 million cap hit in the final of the four-year, $160 million contract he signed in 2021. He has a no trade clause and the Cowboys can’t use the franchise tag on him.
The floor any prospective deal for Prescott likely starts at $52 million annually and could reach $60 million.
Owner Jerry Jones, however, downplayed significance of next season’s quarterback situation.
“Because of the uniqueness of our negotiations with Dak, and the anticipation of where that might go, then what I might dwell on is the fact that all quarterbacks are under contract this year,” Jones said. “And that’s a pretty good spot to be in too. Obviously, we have to think around the corner about future years. The more you want to look around the corner the more things that you have to guess on what’s going to be the next year and the next year and the next year. So all of that is in consideration.
“But just because there’s not a recorded communication with Dak, that doesn’t mean anything at all. That’s a constant around here as far as assessing, talking to yourself in the mirror. That’s going on constantly.”
Picking up Lance’s fifth-year option at a fully guaranteed $22.4 million was never the plan or a consideration, not even when the Cowboys traded a 2024 fourth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers for him last August.
There was no way the salary-cap strapped Cowboys could potentially sign Prescott to extension with that number on the books for Lance.
Lance will earn $5.31 million in 2024 in the final year of his original rookie deal signed with the 49ers, who gave up three first-round picks and made him the third overall pick in 2021 with hopes that he would be heir franchise quarterback of the future.
Less than two years later, he was traded to the Cowboys and much is still unknown about his potential.
Lance played in no games for the Cowboys in 2023, although the coaches have complimented his progress and work ethic in practice.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Lance will get the bulk of the work in the preseason.
The Cowboys know what they have in Rush. And Prescott has not taken a snap in the preseason in the last four seasons.
“We think [Trey] Lance is a good addition,” Jones said during the draft last weekend. “I’ve got it right here again, got him right here in this draft as though he were a draft pick for us.”
While all that sounds good from Jones, the contract situations tells a different story.
All the rookie draft picks are under contract for at least four years.
The Cowboys are not guaranteed to have Lance past 2024 in a season in which they hope he doesn’t get on the field in live active due to a healthy Prescott.
