The buck, quite literally, stopped with Dak Prescott.
Five months after handing $160 million to their franchise quarterback, the Cowboys have put a moratorium on extensions for contract-year players, such as wide receiver Michael Gallup and Randy Gregory. Michael Gehlken, of the Dallas Morning News, reported that the team has decided to not enter into early negotiations and is committing intentional inaction until the next offseason.
“Wide receiver Michael Gallup, and defensive end Randy Gregory, are two of the Dallas players who will be entering their final season. Two Cowboys officials stated that neither the Cowboys nor any other impending unrestricted, free agent, will be extended before this season. These talks are not expected to take place until early 2022,” Gehlken said Saturday.
“The Cowboys are seeing dust in the air, with many players’ futures. They are willing to wait for things to settle.
The 2018 third-round Cowboy pick is one of many expected to go on the open market in 2019. Gallup is the unheralded member of Dallas’ NFL-best receiving team.
It is clear that the club would prefer to keep Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Gallup together. Cooper is still paying $100 million and Lamb is eligible for a 2023 extension — a deal that Cooper should be proud of.
Gallup is well ahead of his first foray into free agency, and poised for another successful campaign. According to the Cowboys website, Gallup is expected to surpass the $37.5 million pact ($12.5m annually) that WR Corey Davis signed earlier in the offseason with the New York Jets.
Accordingly, many close to him believe that he will eventually be “playing elsewhere.”
“We’ve covered this as thoroughly as possible, and now we’re just going to have to wait and see,” in-house reporter David Helman wrote in July. But if I had the chance to guess, I don’t believe the Cowboys have the financial resources to franchise Gallup. I also don’t think they are able to compete with the offers that he’ll receive on the open market. We’ve discussed the possibility of Amari Cooper being traded or cut, and Gallup being kept. But I don’t think enough people are aware of Amari Cooper’s 27-year-old age and his status as one of the top 10 receivers in the game. Unless something extraordinary happens, I don’t think we can part ways with this team. Gallup’s game is something I admire greatly, but it’s a business. I think that’s why he will be playing elsewhere in 2022.