Why the Dallas Cowboys Should Let Dak Prescott Walk and Replace Him With Aaron Rodgers

After approximately a year of negotiations, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys still haven’t come to terms on a long-term contract and it’s honestly getting quite ridiculous. The latest reports had Prescott turning down a five-year/$175 million deal with $106 million guaranteed, which may or may not be true. It’s really hard to tell anything at this point in time. It seems that Dak doesn’t want to commit to as many years as the Cowboys would like as he may want a shorter deal so he can renegotiate sooner to capitalize on the new collective bargaining agreement and the NFL’s new TV deals that will happen soon.

Regardless, one way or another, Prescott will be the starting quarterback in Big D when the 2020 NFL season begins. Both sides want to get this deal done but if they don’t come to terms by July 15 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, Dak will essentially have no choice but to sign his $31.5 million exclusive franchise tender, which he’s currently refusing to do, if he wants to play this upcoming season.

The likelihood of Dak taking the Le’Veon Bell route and sitting out the year is slim-to-none so he’ll be under center when the Cowboys open their season in LA in September against the Rams. But if he ends up playing the 2020 campaign under the tag and things don’t get any better in regards to a long-term deal, there’s another option out there that Jerry Jones should really consider: Aaron Rodgers.

Aaron Rodgers is dealing with an interesting situation himself

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While Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys continue their drama, Aaron Rodgers finds himself in an interesting situation of his own with the Green Bay Packers. After leading the Packers to the NFC Championship, Rodgers sat and watched on draft day as Green Bay selected Utah State quarterback Jordan Love with the 26th overall pick in the first round, which naturally brought on all sorts of speculation about Rodgers’ future with the team.

The two-time MVP would love to stay with the team for whom he’s played his entire career but he also understands that if a guy like Bret Favre can be replaced, so can he. So if Love comes in and impresses, there’s certainly a chance that Rodgers finds himself on the trading block next year, which leads to an interesting scenario in which the logo on his helmet changes dramatically.

Jerry Jones loves having big stars and bringing in Aaron Rodgers to replace Dak Prescott isn’t as crazy as it sounds

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It’s never been a secret that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves having big stars (not a pun, I promise) on his team and there are few players in the NFL that rival the popularity of Aaron Rodgers. So if things don’t work out with Dak Prescott, it’s not as crazy as it sounds to think that Jones wouldn’t take a long, hard look at Rodgers if he became available. The Packers would take a big salary cap hit if they move on from No. 12 in the next two years but if this situation with Jordan Love turns ugly or Rodgers simply requests a trade, both of which could feasibly happen, things could get very interesting.

Yes, Rodgers’ age is a bit of a factor here. He’d be 37 going into the 2021 season but let’s not pretend he’s not still producing at a high level. Truth be told, even at his age, he’s still a better quarterback than Dak Prescott. Sure, Dak put up some big numbers in 2019, throwing for 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns, but he couldn’t win when it mattered and struggled against good teams. While the Cowboys’ defense took a lot of the blame for Dallas’ 8-8 record, let’s not forget that Prescott was 1-6 against playoff teams last year and the offense scored 15 points or less in four of those losses. Of his 11 interceptions on the year, eight of those came in those games. On a similar note, only eight of his 30 touchdown passes came against the stronger opponents with the other 22 coming against non-playoff teams.

As for Aaron Rodgers, he led the Packers to a 13-3 record, despite not having great offensive weapons around him and not having his best statistical year. But he still threw for more than 4,000 yards and 26 touchdowns against just four interceptions and for the fourth time in his career led the NFL in interception percentage. Can you imagine putting him behind the Cowboys’ offensive line where he wouldn’t have to scramble as much and had more time to throw? And just look at the weapons he’d have in Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb. Are you telling me that Jerry Jones wouldn’t seriously consider bringing Aaron Rodgers in for three or four years to play with these guys?

Rodgers’ relationship with Mike McCarthy is a little rocky but the two still won a Super Bowl together

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It’s no secret that Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, who is gearing up for his first season with the Cowboys, didn’t always get along during their time together in Green Bay but that’s just what happens with coaches and players sometimes, especially when big-time quarterbacks are involved. The two didn’t always agree on things but they were still somehow able to get past it and won a Super Bowl together. While Rodgers is still a bit critical of his former head coach at times, McCarthy is constantly talking about how much respect he has for his former quarterback. So if Rodgers were to come to Dallas, there could be a little bit of an issue there but I’m betting that both could be professionals if it meant getting back to the Super Bowl.

Alas, this scenario likely won’t happen as Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will almost certainly figure things out at some point. And there’s certainly a chance that Prescott does someday lead the Cowboys to a Super Bowl. But if things by chance don’t work out, seeing Aaron Rodgers with a star on his helmet isn’t that crazy of an idea.

*All stats courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference