Dak Prescott's gruesome ankle injury Sunday afternoon launched questions about his future in Dallas.
Despite the uncertain nature of Prescott's injury, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones says the team's feelings about Dak as its franchise quarterback haven't changed.
"Absolutely not. He's our future," Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan. "If anyone can overcome anything, it's Dak. Feel very good that he can come back stronger and better than ever."
Actions in Dallas will speak louder than words.
Playing on the franchise tag in 2020, Prescott will warrant either another tag next year or a long-term deal with the Cowboys, or he'll hit the open market. The 27-year-old was set for a massive payday this offseason -- the franchise tag in 2021 would be worth around $37.7 million.
Jones' comments suggest they wouldn't squeeze Prescott to take a team-friendly deal, but we'll see if those sentiments hold at the bargaining table.
Prescott was not the reason the Cowboys got off to a rocky start to the 2020 campaign. He was on pace to shatter passing records.
In less than five full games, Prescott completed 151 of 222 passes for 1,856 yards, all tops in the NFL. Even without playing the final quarter of Week 5, Prescott was on pace for 5,939 passing yards this season -- that would have surpassed Peyton Manning's single-season record of 5,477 in 2013.
Prescott's recovery will be under the microscope in Dallas, as will any contract extension talks that take place once the season ends.
In the interim, Andy Dalton takes over for the first-place Cowboys squad. Rookie Ben DiNucci is currently in line for the backup role, but it's possible Dallas brings in another veteran to fill that slot.
