Nothing gets the trade chatter going in Dallas quite like a losing record. A 3-5 start, capped by a 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, has one local radio host calling for the Dallas Cowboys to move on from Dak Prescott.

However, WFAA Cowboys insider Ed Werder laid out the case against Jerry Jones pulling that trigger, and it goes deeper than the fine print of Prescott’s contract.

Ed Werder Points to Dak Prescott’s Contract and Dallas’ Quarterback History

In Werder’s view, “Jerry knows how fortunate” the Cowboys have been to have 20 consecutive years of high-level QB play.

Werder started with the obstacles closest to the surface, from the quarterback’s own wishes to the contract Dallas handed him two years ago. “Dak has never seemed interested in playing elsewhere, has a no-trade clause, and his salary cap hit would be catastrophic for Dallas,” he wrote.

Prescott made that first point himself in September 2024, once his four-year, $240 million extension with $231 million in total guarantees was done. “I said that over and over again, I just wanted to be at peace with whatever the decision was. Wanted to be a Cowboy, wanted to stay a Cowboy,” he said at the time.

Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones confirmed that month that the no-trade clause carried over into the new deal, along with Dallas’ promise not to franchise-tag Prescott.

Even so, Stephen Jones didn’t rule out a trade down the road: “The trade deals, I think those things work themselves out. Once players understand, whether it’s Matthew Stafford going to a different place, Aaron Rodgers going to a different place, both sides understand when it’s time.”

The second half of Werder’s argument is about how little those 20 years of quarterback play cost Dallas in the draft. The Cowboys landed both quarterbacks “without using a pick on Romo and only a fourth on Dak.” Prescott, who played at Mississippi State, went 135th overall in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.

Werder chose to close on Jerry Jones himself: “He remembers the void that came post-Aikman.”

Zach Wolchuk Argues for a Dak Prescott Trade

In Week 8, the Cowboys led the Cardinals 30-24 with 1:09 left in regulation before that one slipped away.

A day later, Zach Wolchuk, a radio host at “105.3 The Fan,” decided to argue for trading Prescott, reaching the opposite conclusion from Werder.

Wolchuk argued that this team is essentially stuck in neutral, not winning enough to build on, and not losing enough to tear it all down.

The numbers behind Werder’s cap point, though, start with how Dallas has managed the deal. The Cowboys converted $45.75 million of Prescott’s salary into a bonus in 2025 and another $38.2 million this year, pushing more of his cap charge into later seasons.

His $45 million base salary for 2027 became guaranteed in March, and his cap number jumps from $43.5 million this season to $76 million in 2027 and $86 million in 2028, according to Over the Cap.

Over the Cap also lists $86.5 million in dead money for a Prescott trade made before June 1, 2027, more than the $76 million he’s set to count against the cap that season if he stays. A trade after June 1 next year would spread that hit over two years, with about $31 million landing in 2027 and the remaining $55.5 million in 2028.

Moving him this season would cost even more, with $41.7 million in dead money on the 2026 cap and the remaining $86.5 million landing in 2027, $128.2 million in all. Those are the bills waiting for Jerry Jones if Dallas ever decides to trade him.