NFL Writer Says Raiders Could Be Prescott Landing Spot

The

Dallas Cowboys

have had a questionable offseason, to put it generously.

The team is coming off yet another one-and-done postseason appearance, and has just one postseason victory in four seasons under Mike McCarthy. The front office elected to sit out the meat of free agency in order to preserve cap space for extensions for the team’s big three: quarterback

Dak Prescott

, wide receiver

CeeDee Lamb

, and edge rusher/linebacker/defensive savant

Micah Parsons

.

After tense negotiations and numerous other wide receiver extensions around the league, the Cowboys finally agreed to a new contract with Lamb last week, signing him to a four-year, $136 million deal.

That’s left Prescott, who’s heading into the final season of his own deal, in a bit of a holding pattern. The team won’t give him the $60 million per year extension he’s reportedly looking for, which has positioned the quarterback for a potential foray into free agency in 2025.

According to NBC’s Mike Florio, should Prescott get there, he’ll find no shortage of suitors. Obvious names like the

Pittsburgh Steelers

,

New York Giants

, and other teams in need of an answer at the game’s most important position appear on his list.

However, the most surprising name, at least on the surface, is the rebuilding

Las Vegas Raiders

.

Raiders Have Long-Term Need At QB

Gardner Minshew was named the team’s starter for 2024

At first glance, the Raiders might seem like a surprise suitor for Prescott, but they check off every feasible box the veteran quarterback could want.

A need at quarterback and an obvious path to the long-term starting gig? Not that Prescott, who finished second in MVP voting in 2023, needs it, but the Raiders have

Gardner Minshew II

and

Aidan O’Connell

as the top two quarterbacks on their roster. The former was named the starter earlier in August, and the latter seems destined for a career backup role.

The team also has ample cap room in 2025, with $70,824,458 in available cap space beginning next offseason. That number will obviously fluctuate as players are added, extensions are handed out, and trades and cuts are processed, but it’s clear that Las Vegas will be one of few teams with the capacity to add a record cap number without having to completely blow up the roster.

Prescott’s addition would also make star receiver

Davante Adams

happy, who’s been toiling away in Vegas for the last couple of seasons after thriving as

Aaron Rodgers

‘ WR1 for many years in Green Bay.

The rest of the roster leaves something to be desired, though

Jakobi Meyers

is an enviable WR2, and

Zamir White

has the chance to break through as a star running back in his third NFL season.

Beyond that, the team also has perhaps the most exciting tight end room in the league, with former Notre Dame star Michael Mayer splitting reps with first-round pick

Brock Bowers

. Prescott has always been a fan of tight ends, whether it was Jason Witten at the start of his career,

Dalton Schultz

in recent years, or

Jake Ferguson

now. In each of the last four seasons, the Cowboys’ starting tight end has caught at least 57 passes (Schultz had 63, 78 and 57 from 2020 to 2022, while Ferguson had 71 in 2023).

The Raiders are also dedicating a huge portion of themselves to building a talented defense, giving Antonio Pierce the full-time head coaching gig this offseason before signing defensive tackle Christian Wilkins away from the

Miami Dolphins

. He’ll form the league’s best pass-rushing tandem with incumbent All-Pro

Maxx Crosby

, and would help alleviate pressure off Prescott and the offense in the way that Parsons and

Demarcus Lawrence

have in Dallas.

Las Vegas has always been known to be in the business of shopping for stars under the ownership of Mark Davis, a bill that Prescott would fit perfectly. Though it sounds surprising to believe a rebuilding squad would accelerate their timeline so much just for a 30-something-year-old quarterback, the Raiders need a franchise signal caller, and Prescott needs a market-setting contract.

Square peg, meet square hole.

Source: Mike Florio | NBC Sports

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless stated otherwise. All salary info via Spotrac.