Prescott admits playing for another team 'may be a reality'
Dak Prescott wants to remain with the Dallas Cowboys, but the star quarterback isn't ruling out joining a new team as he enters the last year of his contract.
"I'm gonna say it - I want to be here, but when you look up, all the great quarterbacks I watched played for other teams. That's not something to fear. It may be a reality for me one day. It may not be my decision," Prescott said Thursday, according to Jett Beachum of CBS News Texas.
It's the first time Prescott - who's been negotiating an extension with Dallas - has publicly mentioned the possibility of playing for a different franchise. The 30-year-old is in the final season of a four-year, $160-million deal he signed in 2021. That contract includes no-trade and no-tag clauses.
The Cowboys have also been discussing an extension with disgruntled receiver CeeDee Lamb, who isn't at training camp with the team. Dallas is reportedly prioritizing talks with Lamb over a new deal with Prescott.
Prescott said in June that he's had back-and-forth "conversations" about a new contract with the Cowboys.
"It's a two-way street. They have wants. I have wants. I think I've deserved that," Prescott added Thursday.
"Obviously, I want to be here. ... But at the end of the way, it's a business."
In addition to Prescott and Lamb, All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons is eligible to sign an extension as he enters his fourth season. Dallas executive vice president Stephen Jones recently admitted it's a "challenge" to keep all his star players.
With owner Jerry Jones, the Cowboys haven't rushed to sign some of their cornerstones throughout the years. The 81-year-old executive suggested he's in no rush again this time.
"We're so involved in trying to see where we are with our situations," Jerry said Thursday, according to Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team. "That is a major part of seeing the leaves fall. Seeing the time go back. Seeing this day, this week, how they go by. I have, in my life, played option quarterback so many times and waited until the last leaf on the tree. ... We're buying time."
Though the owner has repeatedly said he doesn't think this will be Prescott's final season with Dallas, he added Thursday that the NFL is a business at the end of the day.
"Believe it or not, in my life, I've had a lot of things I wanted that I couldn't get because I couldn't afford it. Now, have I learned to live with that in 80-something years? You bet I have. And life does go on," Jerry said, per Matt Roy of Fox San Antonio.
Prescott has passed for 29,459 yards - the third-most in franchise history - since the Cowboys drafted him in 2016. He's also posted 202 touchdown passes, including an NFL-high 36 last year.
Prescott boasts a 73-41 regular-season record as a starter but is only 2-5 in the playoffs. When he signs a new deal, the three-time Pro Bowler could reset the quarterback market with an average annual salary of at least $60 million.