Is it time for the Dallas Cowboys to blow everything up and start rebuilding?
Dan Orlovsky offered a strong argument for that strategy Monday on ESPN’s NFL Live.
The Cowboys lost again Sunday, 27-21, to the Atlanta Falcons to drop their record to 3-5. An NFL on Fox camera caught quarterback Dak Prescott on the sideline late in the game appearing to say something bad about his own team.
Prescott will now reportedly miss “multiple weeks” after suffering a hamstring injury that turned out more serious than the team originally expected. As of mid-afternoon Monday, no decision had been made about whether to place him on IR.
Orlovsky said the Cowboys need to make that decision immediately, because if Prescott goes on IR, he thinks they should become “sellers” ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
“If Dak Prescott gets placed on IR with this hamstring, the Cowboys need to ask a very real question, do they become sellers, very quickly,” Orlovsky said. “They’ve got about 24 hours to do it.
“Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb account for 46% of their cap next year, about $120 million. There’s no way to rebuild this roster without picks. If Dak goes on IR, they’ve got to really kind of ask the question: Do they trade Micah Parsons? Can they trade DeMarcus Lawrence? Can they trade Zack Martin? Can they trade Brandin Cooks?”
Such moves would have seemed unthinkable before the season started, but the Cowboys have fallen well short of expectations.
“I know that sounds extreme. But this is not a good football team right now, it’s certainly not going to be better without Dak Prescott,” Orlovsky said. “And because of the way those contracts are set up and the cap, and the lack of talent, they’ve got to start to think about the future, if Dak is going to be gone for a minimum of four weeks.”
Tough conversations
Think Parsons is unlikely but have to talk about it…. https://t.co/lUe80QMpk2
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) November 4, 2024
It’s not the first time Orlovsky has unloaded on the Cowboys in recent weeks. In mid-October, he said the team’s championship window had closed, saying, “There is not a single thing on this football team that they do well.”
[Dan Orlovsky]
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.