Pair Of Former NFL Execs Think Jets Are Better Off With Sam Darnold Over Dak Prescott
If the Dallas Cowboys end up going with a quarterback other than Dak Prescott, it’s a safe bet there will be a number of NFL teams pursuing the signal-caller. While Prescott is still young enough to be the building block of any NFL team, two former high-level execs believe the New York Jets should steer clear. Those execs believe Sam Darnold would be a better choice for the long term prospects of the franchise, even if a talented replacement is available.
The two former execs, Jeff Diamond and Marc Ross, talked to Sports Illustrated and told the publication that they believe the team should continue being patient with Darnold. Diamond especially believes the Jets are set, even if Prescott becomes available. While he believes the New York quarterback is plenty talented, there are monetary reasons to pass on Prescott and keep Darnold in the fold as well.
“Nope — I think they’re set with Darnold,” Diamond said. “And the salary cap hit [for the Jets] would be $17.9 million this year if they traded or released Darnold …so that makes it even more unlikely.”
Diamond also believes Prescott won’t be made available anyway. He told the publication he thinks the Dallas Cowboys will eventually slap the franchise tag on the quarterback.
Ross had similar comments, saying he believes the ceiling is just too high for the former USC quarterback.
Ross added that he thinks Darnold is more of a natural playmaker than Prescott. Ross, who is a former vice president of player evaluation for the New York Giants and has also worked for the Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles, did admit that the Jets quarterback hasn’t been as consistent as Prescott so far.
He added that Prescott isn’t, in his mind, the kind of quarterback that is going to go out a win a game the team needs. Sam Darnold, according to Ross, has the potential to be that guy.
The talk about Prescott being an eventual free agent has been floating around the NFL since the Super Bowl came to an end. It was aided by rumors that Tom Brady was a target for Jerry Jones and company. There’s been quite a bit of talk over the last month about how the Cowboys and Prescott haven’t been able to make much headway on a new deal. Some people around the league believe the team might step away and go for the New England Patriots quarterback instead.
If that was part of the plan for the Dallas Cowboys, rumors that Brady is being seriously courted by the Las Vegas Raiders could dash those hopes and force them to stick with Prescott.
