With no deal, Prescott will play under Cowboys’ tag
Dak Prescott will play whatever becomes of the 2020 season under the one-year franchise tag after the Dallas Cowboys and their star quarterback couldn’t agree on a long-term contract.
Clubs had until Wednesday afternoon to reach multiyear deals with players given the franchise tag. Of the 14 tagged in March, two have agreements, including NFL rushing leader Derrick Henry with Tennessee just before the deadline.
Two more — Cincinnati receiver A.J. Green and defensive end Yannick Ngakoue of Jacksonville — haven’t signed the one-year contract that goes with the tag. They can stay away from team activities without the risk of being fined. Ngakoue has said he won’t play for the Jaguars and wants to be traded.
Prescott signed his $31.4 million contract in June. The 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year earned slightly more than $4 million total in the four years of his rookie contract after being drafted in the fourth round.
The Cowboys and Prescott have been working for more than a year on a long-term contract for a two-time Pro Bowl player who has started every game of his career.
Prescott replaced an injured
Tony Romo during the 2016 preseason and led a franchise-record 11-game winning streak that carried the Cowboys to the top seed in the NFC playoffs. Romo, a 10-year starter, never got his job back.
Dallas owner Jerry Jones has said repeatedly he considers Prescott a franchise quarterback for years to come.
Henry and the Titans agreed on a multiyear deal a day after Kansas City secured Pro Bowl defensive end Chris Jones on a four-year contract that could be worth up to $85 million. Henry’s deal is reported to be at $50 million over four years.
Garrett signs richest defender contract
Myles Garrett signed his fiveyear, $125 million contract extension with the Cleveland Browns, making the talented edge rusher from Texas A&M the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player. The deal includes $100 million guaranteed, according to NFL Network.
Garrett, 24, posted a video on Instagram of him signing the deal and then writing a note he pushed in front of the camera that said: “Cleveland keep betting on me. World keep betting against us.”
Odds and ends
David Lewis, a key member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 1979 team that reached the NFC title game, has died. He was 65. Lewis died Tuesday in Tampa. The cause was not immediately known, but he had struggled with health issues in recent years, according to Southern California, where he played in college. … New Era Field will no longer be the name of the Buffalo Bills’ home stadium, after the global sports headware and clothing apparel company asked to be released from its naming rights and sponsorship agreement. No reason was provided for the move, announced Wednesday, though it comes a little over a week after New Era Cap Company laid off 117 employees at its Buffalo-based headquarters.