Earlier this year, the Minnesota Vikings parted with longtime quarterback Kirk Cousins after spending the last six seasons together. Cousins was still looking to cash in, and the Vikings weren't willing to give him what he wanted, so the two sides wound up going their separate ways.
Apparently, the Dallas Cowboys could be doing something very similar in the near future.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is currently in the final year of his contract with the team and many expected him to land a new deal from the franchise this offseason. However, no extension between Dallas and Prescott has been agreed to this year, and according to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday, there is "no indication" that a new deal is coming for the veteran quarterback.
Dallas Cowboys following QB path laid out by the Minnesota Vikings this offseason?
To some, it was seeming like the Vikings were never going to move on from Cousins, and the team was going to continue to be held back by his expensive, short-term contracts that never really allowed Minnesota to be able to take advantage of any sort of salary cap flexibility.
But the Vikings clearly had a line that they would not cross when it came to negotiating a new deal with the veteran signal-caller and they were willing to risk him leaving and signing with a different team.
It seems like the Cowboys could be executing a similar plan with Prescott.
Even though Rapoport shared on Tuesday that it doesn't seem like Dallas will be agreeing to an extension with their top quarterback anytime in the near future, it sounds like the team is still willing to work out a new deal to prevent him from leaving in free agency in 2025.
According to CBS Sports' Josina Anderson on Wednesday, the Cowboys are "not presently charting a path to let Prescott go to free agency" next year.
If any Minnesota fan believes this sounds similar to what the team went through with Cousins, they wouldn't be wrong.
Throughout their final year together, and literally right up until the final day of their relationship, the Vikings continued to make it known that they were more than willing to bring Cousins back to continue his tenure with the franchise. However, Minnesota also made sure to include that a new deal had to benefit both sides of the negotiating table.
A similar scenario seems to be playing out in Dallas, as the team is at least making it seem as though they would like to continue forward with Prescott as their starting quarterback. At the same time, however, the Cowboys want to make sure a potential new contract with him doesn't hinder the team's plans for the future.
Will things play out differently for Dallas and Prescott, or will he follow Cousins's lead and end up with a new team in free agency during next year's offseason?