Cowboys place a franchise tag on QB Dak Prescott

In the weeks leading up to free agency, there has been the underlying belief that the Dallas Cowboys would wind up placing the franchise tag on star quarterback Dak Prescott.

That came to fruition on Monday morning before the deadline as the team went that route, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.

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The Dallas Cowboys have placed the exclusive franchise tag on Dak Prescott, the team announced Monday, although the ultimate goal remains to have the quarterback signed to a long-term contract.

The decision to utilize that option shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the lack of contract discussions the team has had with Prescott. The Cowboys had presented him with one massive offer since the NFL Scouting Combine that would have paid him $33 million per season.

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There is also the fact that the two sides didn’t talk about a new deal before that point dating back to last September. All of that had put more of an emphasis on how difficult it was going to be to hammer out a new multi-year deal. The franchise tag at least allows the two sides more time to work out an extension as the new deadline will be on July 15.

If not, the two sides can head to the drawing board next offseason, which could wind up being the use of the franchise tag yet again. Beyond that, the Cowboys can now shift their attention toward working out a new lucrative deal with star wide receiver Amari Cooper.