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Cowboys VP Stephen Jones on using the franchise tag on QB Dak Prescott: ‘Our goal is to avoid it’

Dallas can place franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott starting on Feb. 25.

Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones told The Dallas Morning News on Friday that the organization’s goal is to avoid placing a franchise tag on quarterback Dak Prescott.

The Cowboys held talks with Prescott’s agents last summer and Jones previously said he thought a deal was close prior to the 2019 season. But both sides went through the season without getting anything done.

And now Prescott is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent. The Cowboys can place a franchise tag on him starting Feb. 25. NFL teams have until March 10 to designate which players will be franchised. Free agency begins March 18.

“Our goal is to avoid it,” Jones said of the tag. “We want to get a deal done. We’re going to roll up our sleeves and when these things get momentum, they get done, but both sides [have] got to be in a place where we think we’re within shouting distance of getting something done.”

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Prescott, the Cowboys’ 2016 fourth-round pick, was one of the lowest-paid starting quarterbacks in the NFL. He made $2.025 million in base salary last season.

After taking over for an injured Tony Romo in 2016, Prescott has emerged as the face of the franchise. Last season, he had the second-most passing yards (4,902) in the NFL, was fourth in touchdown passes (30) and was tied for fourth in yards per attempt (8.2).

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At the Super Bowl, Prescott told The News he was unsure if he would take part in the offseason program without a new contract.

“We’ll get to that when we get to that,” Prescott said. “I look forward to talking to my agents and when that [tag] comes to play, the direction that we’ll go. Until that’s a reality, I won’t worry about it.

“But I do feel like some of this should get done. I’m a little disappointed that it hasn’t, but that’s part of it.’’

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The Cowboys offered Prescott a contract that would place him within the top five at his position, but it’s apparent he wants something much higher. The baseline for that contract starts at $30 million per season.

“I wish we were done, obviously,” Jones said. “But we got work to do. But it’s certainly a priority for us and our goal is to get it done in the next couple of weeks.”

At the top of the league’s quarterback salary chart is Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who averages $35 million per season. Jared Goff of the Los Angeles Rams has the highest guaranteed contract for a quarterback at $110 million, followed by Philadelphia’s Carson Wentz ($107.8 million) and Wilson ($107 million).

Jones said the deadline to franchise a quarterback doesn’t affect negotiations with Prescott.

“These things can be in stalemates and then they get done in a couple of days,” Jones said. “It’s just having the wherewithal to knock it out. That’s what we got to do.”

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