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Former MSU star Kirk Cousins shares his franchise tag advice for Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Kirk Cousins has been in the unusual territory that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott now finds himself in.
An NFL quarterback playing under the franchise tag is relatively unheard of with Drew Brees, Cousins, and Prescott being the only three quarterbacks to play a season under the tag. For Cousins, he holds the distinction of being the only quarterback to play two seasons under the franchise tag before signing with Minnesota in free agency.
Prescott now faces a similar decision of potentially playing a second year under the franchise tag as he waits to see if Dallas will offer a long-term contract to his liking.
In a recent interview with Pro Football Talk’s Charean Williams, Cousins was asked if he had any advice for Prescott due to his experience with the franchise tag. Cousins went on to say that he told Prescott that the tag can be your friend, and he also believes the pressure is still on Dallas to make a decision and not on Prescott:
“Well, the only piece I’ve said to him in crossing his path by going back maybe a couple of offseasons was just to make the point that the franchise tag can be your friend; it can be a help to you if that’s the route you choose to go,” Cousins said. “So, he played on the franchise tag this past year. I think he’s in a great spot now. Everybody knows he can play, and he’s an elite quarterback. Really, the ball is more in the court of the Cowboys and what they want to do going forward. But I think it’s a no-brainer that Dak’s the real deal and is going to have a great career moving forward. He’s in a really good spot.”
The tag did indeed turn out to be a wise decision for Cousins. He made just shy of $44 million between 2016-17 on the tag with Washington before signing with Minnesota in free agency. It will be interesting to see if Prescott follows a similar pattern.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.