Ranking teams that would trade for Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
Matt Stafford is the poster child.
There’s a very small collection of NFL quarterbacks who can call themselves Super Bowl champions. The last two decades were dominated by Tom Brady, and as such an exclusive group has been made even smaller. The vast majority of Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks either achieved success early in their great-to-elite careers, or were guys who were along for the ride (Nick Foles, Brad Johnson). There’s only been one recent, franchise QB who took forever to win a Super Bowl, and that was Stafford, who hoisted the Lombardi in his 13th season.
So when the conversation around current Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott comes to whether or not there’s any reason to believe it will ever happen for the now eight-year veteran, Stafford is the only example.
Stafford had to do it for another franchise.
After 12 years of being the face of the Lions, and despite having a top-five all-time target much of his career in Calvin Johnson, Stafford had to resuscitate his postseason chances by going to a new team.
Is that what it will take for Prescott, or will he be able to take the Cowboys over the hump? There’s a contingent of fans who believe he can; though that herd thins after a disastrous team loss where everyone was to blame, like Sunday.
Cowboys Nation has the population size of its own country, so every different opinion on Prescott —and there are dozens of them — is supported by numbers equivalent to the size of other team’s entire fanbases.
Prescott has had his detractors since he took control of the Cowboys offense in 2016.
Whether it was those who were opposed to his draft pedigree as a fourth rounder, those who were fiercely loyal to Tony Romo, those who didn’t want a Black quarterback leading America’s Team or those who simply didn’t think he had the talent necessary to do the job, there have always been naysayers.
And now, with a contract extension looming and almost guaranteed because the Cowboys backed themselves into a corner five years ago, the conversation comes to this. Would Dallas be better served hitting the reset button on the position by trading him?
The belief that Prescott doesn’t have huge value around the league is simple mnded.
There are numerous franchises who would be improving their chances, in large magnitude, by replacing whatever they have at the position with Prescott. Many of those franchises would absolutely pony up huge draft capital to acquire him, and then make him the highest-paid QB in the league.
Dallas has gone through four coaches across the last 18 years of top QB play from Romo and Prescott.
It’s not a reach to think the issue is the franchise, the environment the plays occur in, not the signal caller. Mental fortitude and toughness trickle down through an organization from the highest levels. Prescott’s done nothing but steward league-leading offenses whenever he’s been healthy, though they certainly haven’t been that in the postseason. Teams would have every reason to believe that like Stafford, a change of scenery could take Prescott from statistical winner to actual champion.
Here’s a look at those teams, ranking which ones make the most sense.
12. Miami Dolphins
This is a really tough call on whether or not Miami would make the trade. Tua Tagovailoa has led the league in several categories under Mike McDaniel, but he’s thrown in some stinkers as well. He has one year remaining under the fifth-year option and is looking for an extension this offseason. Would they rather pay him or Prescott? My money is on Prescott.
11. Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are in an interesting position, refusing to flatline after losing Kirk Cousins for the year. But Cousins is now a free agent, capable of exploring other options and greener pastures. They seem like a team that would consider swapping out one veteran for another, but they’re at the lower end of the spectrum.
10. Seattle Seahawks
Geno Smith has done a solid job in replacing Russell Wilson in Seattle, but Prescott would be an immediate upgrade. And with a new coach incoming, too?
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa has won three-straight division titles, the last two with the finally-aged Tom Brady and reclamation Baker Mayfield under center. Mayfield is on a one-year deal. Unless a couple upsets happen, more than likely they’ll be back in the QB market this offseason and would likely do backflips if they could add Prescott’s skills to their roster.
8. Carolina Panthers
Bryce Young hasn’t been given the tools to work with and there’ll be a brand new coaching staff that will look to develop a real offense around the 2023 No. 1 pick. However with the clear, public buyer’s remorse out of weirdo owner David Tepper, he absolutely would trade picks for Prescott, if he had any.
7. Washington Commanders
The Commanders are hitting the reset button from ownership to the GM to the coaching staff. They’d welcome having Prescott in the building after the way he’s manhandled them through his career. The Cowboys are 11-2 vs Washington in Prescott’s career with 27 touchdowns against just five picks.
6. Denver Broncos
Oh, you know Sean Payton wants to get as far away from having to employ Russell Wilson as he can. Payton would talk about Roger Goodell’s momma for the opportunity.
5. Chicago Bears
4. Las Vegas Raiders
Antonio Pierce was a great hire for them, they have to see if what they saw in him as an interim can carry over to an offseason of preparation. The only way it’s sustained though would be with a franchise-level QB. The Raiders would ship picks for Prescott in a heartbeat.
3. New England Patriots
The Patriots thought they were replacing Brady in fine form after the rookie season of Mac Jones, but the last two years have been abysmal. Now, Bill Belichick is out and they’re hunting for a guy again. Prescott would absolutely be a target for them if he were available in trade.
2. Pittsburgh Steelers
With Mike Tomlin announcing he’s going to return for an 18th season, the Steelers would probably bend over backwards to acquire Prescott. The team, even with horrid QB play, keep barely making the playoffs even though they aren’t good enough to win there.
1. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons have a ton of young weapons and a competent enough defense that they are just waiting for the right head-coach QB scenario to come to town. If Bill Belichick gets the gig like it appears, they’d absolutely pony up the price tag of two first-round picks to acquire Prescott and hit the ground running.
3 more teams Prescott would be an upgrade for, but they wouldn't trade for him
Prescott would be an upgrade from Derek Carr, but the investment they gave to Carr last offseason would prohibit the front office from making the move.
New York Giants
The Cowboys aren’t trading within their division, but the Giants would absolutely love to replace Daniel Jones with Dak Prescott if they hadn’t just given Jones a ridiculous contract. It wouldn’t make much difference though, that roster is putrid and the coach appears to be maniacal.
Prescott is a much different quarterback than Murray, and older. I still think the Cardinals would consider this an upgrade, but the status of Murray’s contract and $81 million in dead money eliminates them from any conversation here.
