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Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are both rounding into a potentially lucrative round of contract negotiations with Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Cowboys fans hope the two will take team-friendly deals to allow for more spending in free agency.
However, speaking on Monday's edition of "Get Up," NFL analysts Bart Scott and Mike Tannenbaum forecasted expensive price tags for the quarterback and wide receiver combo. Here's how Scott talked about Prescott's mindset:
"I don't care what you jabronis, you cockroaches want. I'm taking all my money. I ain't taking him one down [iota]. Give me 60 milli (per year), baby. [00:00:23]"
Mike Tannenbaum went on to pressure Jones to pay the receiver without any fuss:
"[00:00:31] You're going to be 25 years old. 12 touchdowns, a year ago. He's physical, he's homegrown. He's tough. He checks every box. Some of these discussions are hard. This one's easy. Pay CeeDee Lamb. [00:00:43"]"
How much time does Jerry Jones have to pay Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb?
When it comes to employment, timing is everything. Not many teams offer their players a raise until the last possible moment. As it stands, Jerry Jones is teetering on falling into that bucket with Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.
In the case of the quarterback, Dak Prescott is still locked up through the 2024 season. Beyond that, Jones has the power to franchise tag the quarterback, but most agree this would lead to a messy PR look for the team and its owner. However, by waiting until 2024, Jones puts a bit more pressure on Prescott to prove his worth one last time.
If the quarterback stumbles, it gives reason for Jones to lower the salary offer, pointing to the decline.
In the case of CeeDee Lamb, Jones has already picked up the wide receiver's fifth-year option, and the wide receiver is covered for 2024. However, just like his quarterback, the pressure is on Jones to deliver a deal with his players sooner rather than later.
There technically is a path that gets ugly with his top two offensive pieces. If both the quarterback and wide receiver feel the need, a holdout by both players would compound the pressure on Jones. Falling short of using the nuclear option, statements put out over the next 12 months by the top two players on the team could result in a headache for the owner.
In the end, one scenario still on the table is that the Cowboys find themselves in a similar quandary as the New York Giants last year with one franchise tag and two massive pieces to choose from in Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley.
That, of course, is a potential scenario the Dallas Cowboys would like to avoid. As such, pressure is mounting for at least one of the stars to get signed this offseason.
However, signing one to a deal runs the risk of angering the other, meaning that if there's a priority on keeping the piece, Jones would need to consider both CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott as a package deal.
If any of the above quotes are used, credit "Get Up" and H/T Sportskeeda.
