Signing Dalton poses no threat of controversy
Locker room still belongs to Prescott, who now has capable backup for once
DALLAS — Signing Andy Dalton doesn’t send any sort of message to Dak Prescott.
The Dallas Cowboys aren’t insulting their starting quarterback or drawing a line in the negotiating sand.
All the club has done is upgrade the roster at a reasonable price. The desire of some to spin his addition into something more, to use it as proof that a disturbing fissure has developed between the Cowboys and Prescott, has reached comical proportions.
Dalton is the backup, pure and simple. There’s no need to wait for a public proclamation from owner Jerry Jones or head coach Mike McCarthy. The contract makes it clear.
The maximum Dalton, a former Katy and TCU star, can make this season is $7 million. That’s roughly one-fifth of the average salary the club has on the table in its latest proposal to Prescott.
How is that a threat to Prescott? How does that undermine his status with teammates?
The suggestion that Dalton’s acquisition improves the club’s leverage in negotiations with Prescott is also misguided.
Rookie Tony Pollard was outstanding last summer when Ezekiel Elliott held out of training camp, prompting Jones to joke at one point, “Zeke who?’’ That didn’t prevent the Cowboys from making Elliott the league’s highestpaid running back before the season got underway.
McCarthy didn’t take this job back in January to chase Prescott off so he could wait until after the draft on the hope he could tie his fortunes to Dalton. That makes no sense.
Dalton does nothing to lessen Prescott’s leverage in his negotiations with the Cowboys. That came from a pandemic that wiped out normal offseason practices at The Star in Frisco, sessions that Prescott could have skipped to pressure club officials to sign him to appear for the on-field installation of McCarthy’s offense.
Prescott is confident of his place in the Cowboys’ hierarchy. He knows he’s earned the respect of the locker room. He knows this is his team.
Dalton is no threat to Prescott. He’s a threat to Cooper Rush.
Don’t read anything else into it.