Cowboys News: Mike McCarthy Won't Say If Dak Prescott Attended Offseason Program

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy provided little clarity as to Dak Prescott's attendance—or lack thereof—for the team's virtual offseason program. 

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported April 14 that Prescott planned to steer clear of the workouts unless he received a new long-term contract. The Cowboys placed the exclusive franchise tag on him in March.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, McCarthy declined to provide specifics about Prescott's status:

The Cowboys apparently aren't in a hurry to address Prescott's concerns. Team owner Jerry Jones also spoke with reporters Tuesday and said an extension is "not an immediate priority" with Dallas focusing instead on the 2020 NFL draft, per ESPN's Ed Werder.

Jones went on to say he's not worried, per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk:

"I don't have the time frame, but I'm not concerned about that at all as to any of those issues. Again, no surprises here. No surprise on the amount that the franchise counts against the [cap], and no surprise we're sitting here relative to where we are without a long-term agreement. What is the issue here and the challenge is how do we have communication with everyone and do the best we can with what we’ve got and what the league is doing as it pertains to getting our team ready. Dak is very much a part of that."

Beyond the long-term security a new contract would carry as compared to the franchise tag, Prescott might feel he deserves to get paid after both Ezekiel Elliott and Amari Cooper received multiyear deals.

Elliott signed for six years and $90 million in September 2019, and Cooper got $100 million over five years earlier this offseason.

Prescott's franchise tag will be worth $31.4 million in 2020, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio. At some point he'll presumably sign the one-year tender and report to the team because he'd be leaving a ton of money on the table otherwise.

However, letting this situation drag on could cause significant damage to Prescott's relationship with the team, which is what happened with Le'Veon Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers. A similar dynamic emerged with the Washington Redskins and Kirk Cousins as they attempted to hammer out an extension.

If Prescott is skipping team workouts right now it isn't a big deal since teams haven't reached the more meaningful stages of their preseason preparations and are fairly limited in what they can do virtually.

The Cowboys should be careful, though, not to alienate the two-time Pro Bowler to the point where their contract impasse drives a wedge between the two parties.