With the acquisition of another receiving threat in George Pickens, a first-round protector from in the NFL Draft, and a revamped run-game philosophy for this season, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has all the tools necessary to succeed in 2025.
However, in years past, Prescott has had other supporting casts that would offer this optimism. While postseason success hasn’t come as a result, Dak’s financial compensation has … raising the argument of whether he is worth the $60 million a year he now receives after signing the record-setting deal last offseason.
Former Texas Longhorns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Chris Simms, now an NFL analyst with NBC, has offered a statement about where the Cowboys’ signal-caller stands in these conversations.
“Dak Prescott is one thing that you would say, ‘What is holding [the Cowboys] back?'” Simms said on the Up & Adams podcast.
“I don’t wanna say he’s holding them back, but he is the highest-paid player in football, and I would say he’s not near the top-5 quarterback in football, so that’s gotta match up a little bit better, right? Is he even a top-10 quarterback? I don’t know about that, either.
“So, his play, there’ll be a spotlight on that.”
Returning from a torn-off-the-bone hamstring injury that ended his season in 2024, Prescott has a tall mountain to climb to return to his All-Pro play from 2023. As he enters Year 10 in the NFL, Prescott is about to be on the wrong side of Father Time in these pursuits, too.
However, he shouldn’t be surprised by the spotlight he garners as the most important player on “America’s Team”. While Dallas’ losses are not always tied to Prescott’s faults, he typically is the fall-back for blame.
And if Simms is holding Prescott to a $60 million standard, he should remember that Prescott was on pace to finish another All-Pro-like season in his first season with that salary before the devastating injury.
Simms does believe, however, the addition of a player like Pickens should limit the excuses for Prescott finding success.
“The biggest thing was, yes, they needed another offensive play-maker, so they got that,” Simms said. “Because their offense was so just all, ‘CeeDee Lamb, CeeDee Lamb.’ And that’s cool, but as you know, when you start to play the really good teams and the really good defenses, they know how to take away a player like that, and then you’ve gotta have another answer. So, now they have that.”
Dallas always has other-worldly expectations entering each season, but the optimistic fan outlooks are heightened this year after an objectively productive offseason of moves from the front office.
With this new-look supporting cast, Prescott will be as motivated as ever to win games and perform well … but he also can’t do it alone. This is a reality that gets forgotten all too easily when people consider Dak’s place in the league.
Prescott is 2-5 in his career in playoffs. This season is his second as the highest-paid player in league history. Has Dak played well enough to earn this figure? Simms likely isn’t the only one saying “no”.
The “prove it” narratives shouldn’t be ignored. But Prescott’s opportunity to prove his worth this season shouldn’t be either.
