The Dallas Cowboys are placing a lot of hope in the 2024 NFL season. After being embarrassingly swept out of the playoffs at home against the Packers last season, Dallas is committed to making a deep playoff run this year. They will need help from all levels of the team to make this happen, including their backups and role players. Backup QB Trey Lance recently received praise from his head coach that Dak Prescott should pay attention to.
Mike McCarthy praised Trey Lance for his grasp over the new Dallas offense.
“He was on a learning curve, but now he is starting to get the timing,” McCarthy told reporters on Thursday. “He's close to being a master of the system. He has a really high understanding… He just needs as many reps as he can.”
Calling Lance someone who is “close to being a master of the system” is high praise from McCarthy. However, McCarthy is not coming out and saying that Dallas has a battle for QB1 on their hands.
In fact, Trey Lance is in a battle for the backup QB job himself. Lance has to fend off Cooper Rush, someone who has been with the team longer and the coaching could have more faith in.
That being said, Dak Prescott still has reason to worry ahead of 2024. He is playing on the last year of his current contract, and it does not sound like a new deal is imminent. It is entirely possible that Cowboys brass are waiting to see what happens in 2024 before they make a contract decision with Prescott.
Trey Lance earning the trust of Dallas' coaching staff isn't that big a deal for Prescott, but it is a small factor that could potentially hurt his negotiating power in the future.
Micah Parsons not present at Cowboys practice, contract extension rumored to be on ‘back burner'
Dak Prescott is not the only Cowboys who is waiting on a new contract.
CeeDee Lamb will play on the fifth-year option in 2024 and is due for a massive contract extension. His price tag will only increase as other receivers reset the market — Amon-Ra St. Brown, A.J. Brown, and Jaylen Waddle have already done this over the past couple months.
Micah Parsons will need to get paid soon as well, though he may be the lowest priority of all three of Dallas' superstar players. Parsons' possible extension is reportedly viewed as being on the ‘back burner' due to his current contract situation. He will play on the last year of his rookie contract in 2024, but the Cowboys can pick up his fifth-year option in 2025. They would also have the option to franchise tag Parsons in 2026, giving them even more flexibility.
In the meantime, Parsons is absent from Cowboys OTAs. He is training individually with former Texas Super Middleweight champion Tony Mack at TMack Elite Training in Allen, Texas.
Mike McCarthy showed some frustration yesterday when answering questions about Parsons' absence from Cowboys practice.
“I'm not doing attendance,” McCarthy said. “I'm not going to come up here and talk about one player when 98 percent of them are here.”
It will be interesting to see what the Cowboys decide to do with their three best players moving forward. Dallas could blow up their core and start over if they have a disappointing 2024 season.