The Dallas Cowboys have had a very lackluster offseason, and it looks like their main focus is to make sure they have enough salary cap space to hand out lucrative extensions to multiple stars, including quarterback Dak Prescott.
Prescott is heading into the last year of his contract, and there are whispers that his future with the team past 2024 isn’t assured.
Last August, the Cowboys made a trade with the San Francisco 49ers to land Trey Lance, the No. 3 pick in the 2021 draft who has been considered a potential-laden QB, but on Wednesday they declined his fifth-year option, per ProFootballTalk.
As expected, Cowboys decline fifth-year option on Trey Lance’s contract. https://t.co/symQKrcOKO
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 1, 2024
The Niners had to give up a good amount of draft capital to acquire that No. 3 pick in order to use it on Lance, and at the time, they were planning on grooming him to be their potential franchise QB of the future.
After he barely played as a rookie, Lance was named the starter for the 2022 season — only to see his season end in Week 3 because of a severe ankle injury.
That paved the way for Brock Purdy, who was “Mr. Irrelevent” in the 2022 draft, to eventually become San Francisco’s starter and take the NFL by storm, which made Lance expendable.
If the Cowboys don’t stick with Prescott, either because of his cost or because of his tendency to play beneath his standards in big games, they would obviously need a succession plan, and Lance could be their best bet, at least right now.
Their decision to decline Lance’s fifth-year option could make it easier for them to extend Prescott, assuming they decide to keep him around past this upcoming season.
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