Should the Dallas Cowboys Tag and Trade Dak Prescott?

During a segment on Tuesday's Get Up!, Mike Greenberg said the Dallas Cowboys have backed themselves into a corner in contract negotiations with quarterback Dak Prescott. Greenberg concluded that the only course of action for the Cowboys now is to franchise tag Prescott then trade him away and rebuild.

Here's the segment:

Greenberg makes a decent point, as the Cowboys aren't close to competing for a Super Bowl, so spending roughly $35 million a year on a quarterback isn't the best way to rebuild a roster. They may have to place the franchise tag on him, then trade him so they don't risk losing him for nothing eventually.

Last year I wrote that the Cowboys needed to just bite the bullet and pay Prescott, especially because the price for quarterbacks was only going to rise. Frankly, they should have signed him before the 2019 season, but failed to do so. His price tag has only gone up despite getting injured in 2020. Now he's so expensive he'll take up a huge chunk of the team's cap space.

The Cowboys have botched this completely. While having a franchise quarterback makes life easier, they have so many holes on their roster that Prescott would be in charge of an incomplete team. Had Jerry Jones & Co. done that right thing two summers ago, this wouldn't be an issue. It's a mess of their own making and the best solution might be a trade.