Despite Wilson talk, Dallas focused on Dak
FORT WORTH — Everybody wants to play for the Dallas Cowboys.
It is what it is.
When it’s time to talk free-agent destinations or trade requests, the Cowboys always come up — whether it’s a legitimate option or not.
It never fails.
So it should come as no surprise that news of quarterback Russell Wilson’s unhappiness with the Seattle Seahawks came with a Cowboys caveat.
ESPN reported Wilson’s agent Mark Rogers has informed the Seahawks that the Super Bowl champion quarterback still wants to play in Seattle, “but, if a trade were considered, the only teams he would go to are the Cowboys, Saints, Raiders, Bears.”
Wilson has not yet asked to be traded and Seattle is not looking to deal him. But he has a no-trade cause in his contract, which means that he gets to pick the destination if he were to be moved.
And one of the places he would consider is Dallas.
This not the first time the Cowboys have been revealed as one of the team’s on Wilson’s wish list.
Wishes, however, are often not based on reality.
The Cowboys have a quarterback and they will not be distracted in their pursuit of a long-term deal with Dak Prescott by Wilson’s hypothetical wish list.
Prescott is the Cowboys’ quarterback, and the Cowboys are going to do everything in their power to keep Prescott as their quarterback.
And while Wilson has a Super Bowl title on his résumé, Prescott’s career numbers are very comparable in the light.
And let’s not forget that Prescott’s lone playoff win came against Wilson and the Seahawks.
What’s also true is that logistics make the trade nearly impossible to happen.
Prescott is a free agent. And thus he would have to sign a potential franchise tag before being traded. That in itself gives him a no-trade clause.
And before Prescott would agree to a trade, he would likely want some guarantees on a long-term extension with the new team that would top Wilson’s current contract.
If not, he could just wait to hit the free agent market and sell himself to the highest bidder.
And any trade the Seahawks would consider would likely include Prescott coming back along with a couple of first-round picks, though there was a report that the Seattle baseline for a Wilson trade was three first-round picks.
Is Seattle ready to pay Prescott more than Wilson while taking a $39 million cap hit for parting ways with their old quarterback?
And are the Cowboys willing to give up a couple of first-round picks for Wilson, picks that could be used to upgrade their defense?
Having a top quarterback with no help on defense has a been a Cowboys’ problem dating back to the Tony Romo days, and it’s also part of the reason Wilson’s Seahawks have declined since winning a Super Bowl in 2014 behind the Legion of Boom defense.
The bottom line is that Wilson is not coming to the Cowboys.
The Cowboys have a quarterback and they will not be distracted in their pursuit of a long-term deal with Prescott by Wilson’s wish list.
Wishing doesn’t make it so.