Dak Prescott isn’t shying from what shapes up as a prove-it year for the Cowboys

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - At the moment, quarterback Dak Prescott and coach Mike McCarthy don’t have contracts beyond this season with the Dallas Cowboys.

Same for six-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, No. 2 receiver Brandin Cooks and longtime Dallas pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence. The list goes on.

The Cowboys are at 28 seasons and counting without a trip beyond the divisional round in the NFC playoffs. America’s Team is desperate to get back to the biggest stage in the NFL.

There is a prove-it-or-else feel to 2024, and Prescott isn’t shying from the narrative as he closes in on his ninth season opener, which is Sunday at Cleveland.

"If we all look personally into the last year of our deal, it's going to create a little bit of that," Prescott said. "But when you look to the left or right and there's so many people in that situation, I think it makes it a little bit easier to lock in and wrap those arms around each other and say this is on us to change that, to make it different, to be here next year."

Things could change with Prescott, since he says the lines of communication are open on a new contract as he gets set for the final season of his franchise-record $160 million, four-year deal.

The going rate at quarterback is now closer to $60 million per year than the $40 million Prescott took in 2021, when he was still recovering from a gruesome ankle injury that ruined his 2020 season.

Prescott was the MVP runner-up last season after leading the NFL with a career-best 35 touchdown passes.

But his playoff record dropped to 2-5 when Prescott threw a pick-6 as part of a first-half meltdown for Dallas in a 48-32 home wild-card loss to Green Bay that was a stunner for everyone from owner Jerry Jones on down.

Prescott won’t have any trouble commanding top dollar on the open market, but has steadfastly said he wants to do what Tony Romo couldn’t for the Cowboys in the 10 years before him: get that elusive playoff breakthrough.

The 31-year-old added another layer Thursday by saying it wouldn’t mean as much winning a Super Bowl anywhere else. That’s what Romo admitted when he stuck with retirement in the years after Prescott took his job following Romo’s preseason back injury in 2016.

Logic says Prescott isn’t necessarily running out of time in Dallas, but the question will linger until another contract is signed.

"Obviously Dak is doing a great job of not really bringing it into the workspace, but I know personally that it can take a toll on you," said All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb, who ended a long holdout last week by agreeing to a $136 million, four-year extension.

"But he's doing a great job of leading us in the right direction," Lamb said. "He knows that we're rooting for him - me, the most, for sure. We need to hurry up and get this done, so we can just put this all behind us and go win more ballgames."

Lamb isn’t alone in the Dallas locker room, and others hear the persistent criticism of Prescott, who is steadily climbing the career passing charts in Dallas and has a 73-41 record in the regular season with three consecutive trips to the playoffs.

"It’s blasphemy. It’s unbelievable," said Cooks, who is going into his second year with Prescott. "The guy shows up every year, year in and year out. Putting up numbers, leading his team. He can’t do it all by himself.

"A lot of those great quarterbacks that I’ve been with, Tom and Drew (Brees), they won a lot of games, won a lot of Super Bowls. But they had a lot of help around them as well, right?"

McCarthy got the job in 2020 in part because he led Green Bay to the Super Bowl during the 2010 season. The 60-year-old has made the playoffs 12 times in 16 full NFL seasons.

At the same time, McCarthy has been in charge of the only team to qualify with three consecutive 12-win seasons and not reach a conference championship game. He’s on the last year of a five-year deal.

"I get what goes with contracts and I really don't want to speak on it," McCarthy said. "Because I haven't spoken on it, because there's really nothing to talk about. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is today, and that's really something we can all just stay in touch with because we do have responsibilities outside of winning games, but the only thing that truly pays the bills is winning games."

Prescott has won plenty of games. Questions will persist until he wins the right ones, in the minds of the fans.

"You've got to love it, honestly. You've got to embrace it," Prescott said. "That's the challenge. We as the players or the coaches don't have the full say in whether we're here or not. Right now it's about sticking together … not putting necessarily pressure on ourselves but understanding that this team won't be the same after this. And that's just the business of it. Yeah, it's now. Period."

Starting with the quarterback, until something changes with his contract.

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