Denver Broncos: 4 blockbuster QB trades the team could attempt
Denver Broncos 2021 QB blockbuster trade ideas
2. Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys (age: 27, 28 in July)
If the Cowboys’ or Chiefs’ trade offers had been accepted instead of the Denver Broncos’ in the 2016 NFL Draft (for Paxton Lynch), Dak Prescott might be a member of the Denver Broncos already.
The Broncos — specifically John Elway, Gary Kubiak, and the top decision-makers — liked Prescott a lot in the 2016 NFL Draft circuit.
Those guys are all no longer in charge of deciding who is going to be the team’s quarterback, but that doesn’t mean George Paton doesn’t also like Prescott.
Prescott is coming off of a severe injury in a season where he was playing on the franchise tag. Essentially, Prescott is the prime example of why NFL players hate the franchise tag. How much bad blood is there between he and the Cowboys? At this point, nobody knows for sure (if there is any bad blood at all).
Prescott has been excellent in Dallas since his rookie season and was on pace to throw for nearly 6,000 yards last season in five games before he got hurt. He has progressed tremendously but coming off of injury (and multiple surgeries) there are serious question marks surrounding him right now.
The Cowboys’ reticence to give Prescott a long-term deal at this point is interesting, but it could perhaps pave the way for him out of Dallas and onto another team.
The Cowboys also have to consider the salary cap ramifications of keeping Prescott at the price that will be required.
Patrick Mahomes averages $45 million per year on his new deal with the Chiefs. The next highest is Deshaun Watson at $39 million per year. It’s likely Prescott is going to land between $38-40 million per season on his new deal considering tagging him for a second time in 2021 would require almost $38 million guaranteed from Dallas.
I don’t think there’s any way the Cowboys are letting Prescott just hit the market for nothing, but they could tag and trade him if they cannot agree on a long-term deal. What if the Broncos come calling here?
The baseline deal for franchise-tagged quarterbacks is two first-round picks. If a team slaps a player with the non-exclusive tag, that player can negotiate with other teams but a team would be required to surrender two first-round picks if they want to sign them.
The Cowboys could start the bidding there but Prescott’s injury last year might keep the price somewhat reasonable. Here’s a hypothetical deal.
Broncos get:
- QB Dak Prescott
Cowboys get:
- 2021 1st-round pick (9th overall)
- 2021 3rd-round pick (71st overall)
- 2022 1st-round pick
- QB Drew Lock
The Broncos could send the Cowboys back multiple first-round picks and sweeten the deal by adding in Drew Lock as well as a third-round pick in this year’s draft.
This would give the Cowboys back-to-back picks in the top 10 of the 2021 NFL Draft. They could use one of those picks on a quarterback or they could roll with Drew Lock and bring back Andy Dalton for another season.
Obviously, the Cowboys want to keep Prescott around but if negotiations begin to sour in the coming weeks, there’s a chance they could be persuaded to trade him if the price is right.