How Dak Prescott’s franchise tag signing affects the Philadelphia Eagles

Dak’s new deal means nothing, and everything, to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Well, it’s official, Dak Prescott is officially $31.4 million richer… or at least will be soon enough.

That’s right, after months of anticipation, Prescott has officially signed his franchise tag to stick around with the Dallas Cowboys for the 2020 season.

And as a Philadelphia Eagles fan, this is bad news. But also, sort of good news too.

More from Philadelphia Eagles

Allow me to elaborate.

So first and foremost let’s get the obvious out of the way: By signing his franchise tag, Prescott will be under center for the Cowboys this fall (duh). That is obviously not the best news for the Eagles, as it would have been more adventurous for Prescott to holdout deep into the regular season Melvin Gordon-style at the expense of his team’s record.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the kind of guy Dak is. With Mike McCarthy set to take over as the team’s head coach, Prescott was never realistically going to hold up his team’s offensive transition, especially in this, a contract year.

By signing now, Prescott can participate in all of the team’s offseason activities and get his game right with 2020 first-round pick CeeDee Lamb.

However, just because Prescott is signing his franchise tag today doesn’t mean a long-term, salary cap startling deal is off the table – if anything, his willingness to play ball signifies an even greater chance that a deal gets done before the season begins.

Per NFL rules, Prescott and the Cowboys now have until July 15th to get a deal done, at which date they’ll have to until the season is over before they can return to the negotiating tables.

If Prescott elevates his game for the third straight season and looks like a borderline All-Pro in a face-lifted offensive attack then he very well may demand a new deal in the high $30 millions-per-year, maybe even becoming the first player ever to average $40 a year over a contract.

That, obviously, would be music to Philly fans’ ears, as it would effectively lock the Cowboys into the team they have now, limit their free agency market, and force impending free agents like Michael Gallup to test the open market for a lucrative, long-term deal.

For better or worse, a team can’t have a dozen players makeup 60-plus percent of their salary cap and hope to field a competent Super Bowl-caliber roster. Injuries happen a lot in the NFL and basing an entire season on three, four, five players staying healthy is a fool’s errand.

And hey, if Prescott regressed even a little in 2020, well, then we start this whole process over and have to see headline after headline about the Cowboys’ inability to come to terms with their ‘franchise QB’. That means more think pieces on what Jerry Jones is thinking, whether Prescott should sign with the Browns, and yet another session of will they, won’t they with the franchise tag.

Sounds like music to a Philly fan’s ears.

Next. Avonte Maddox goes to bat for Dallas Goedert. dark

So really, Dak Prescott’s new deal means nothing and sort of everything for the Philadelphia Eagles. It guarantees that he will be under center Week 1 barring injury (bad) but also that he could still sign a team-altering, record-setting contract next month or better yet kick the can down the road until next Spring. Either way, Howie Roseman looks all the wiser for locking up Carson Wentz to a then-huge deal that could surely look like a bargain in the not too distant future.

Home/Philadelphia Eagles