Stephen Jones: Andy Dalton Signing Has No Impact on Dak Prescott's Future

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones went on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas Wednesday afternoon and tried to calm rumors surrounding the team's signing of Andy Dalton. While some had speculated the franchise inked Dalton just in case contract negotiations with Dak Prescott went south, Jones quickly denied that.

Jones claimed the Dalton signing has no impact on the team's pursuit of a long-term deal with Prescott, who will remain the team's unquestioned franchise quarterback. While Prescott's long-term deal has taken a while to get hammered out, Jones believes it will happen.

#Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones on @1053thefan on Dalton/Dak: “Obviously, it has no bearing on Dak. Dak is the quarterback of our franchise now, and for many years to come. We’ve gotta get his contract—we’ve gotta get over that hurdle. But we’ll do it, it’ll ultimately get done.”
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) May 6, 2020

It was a fun theory for a few days, but let's be real, Dalton is not a threat to Prescott. He didn't sign with Dallas because he thought there would be a lot of available playing time. What Dalton is likely hoping for is a chance to realign his career in his home state. He'll back up Prescott for a season, maybe get some mop up duty or potentially be ready to step in if Dak gets injured. Then he'll have a chance to hit the open market again next year.

That's all there is to this.

Prescott and the Cowboys do need to figure out an extension. It has taken far too long and should have actually been done before the 2019 season. If it was, the team might have been able to keep Byron Jones from leaving with the franchise tag instead of having to use it on Prescott.