The Eagles extend Carson Wentz, but what does it mean for Dak Prescott?

The Philadelphia Eagles have struck first in the arms race when it comes to extending their 2016 quarterback investment. After trading away five draft picks, including two first-rounders, the Eagles were able to move up to second-overall and select Carson Wentz. The Eagles quarterback was entering the fourth-year that would’ve paid him just $4 million in 2019, and he was due to make another $22.8 million after the team picked up his fifth-year option in April. But now, you can tack on another four years to the deal as the Eagles are giving him an extension.

It’s been a rough few years for the quarterback from North Dakota State. He suffered a rib injury in the preseason of his rookie year, but it didn’t keep him from missing any regular-season action. And when the Eagles traded Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings (who lost Teddy Bridgewater for the year), Wentz was thrown to the wolves as a rookie. He struggled like you’d expect a rookie to do, throwing 16 touchdowns and 14 interceptions, finishing with a 79.3 QB Rating. He also fumbled the ball 14 times. It wasn’t good.

But then Wentz stormed out of the gate the following season, throwing for 33 touchdowns and just seven picks. He looked like a sure-fire MVP before tearing his ACL in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams. Even though Wentz was shelved for the year, the Eagles still went on to win the Super Bowl behind backup quarterback Nick Foles.

Last year, Wentz played well for the most part. He had career highs in completion percentage and yards per game, but the Eagles struggled to win games with him behind center. The Eagles were 5-6 with Wentz starting. A back injury caused the team to shut him down, and once again Foles sparked the team, winning four straight games, including a Wild Card playoff victory over the Chicago Bears.

Foles signed with Jacksonville in March and the Eagles are going all-in with Wentz as their quarterback of the future. With Wentz under contract for the next six years, what does his new deal mean for Dak Prescott?

When you compare their stats, Prescott runs away with everything, but as Eagles fans will be the first to tell you - Dak’s played in more games. That’s true, the durability of Prescott has allowed him to play in eight more games than Wentz. So, let’s be fair and compare the two on a per game bases.

Prescott has more touchdowns, fewer interceptions, a better completion rate, a better QB rating, and has won more games than Wentz. That’s got to be worth something, right? But is it worth $32 million annually, which is what Wentz’ extension is worth. Wherever you sit on this fence, you have to figure it’s going to be close, and this Wentz deal has identified what that figure is going to look like.

The Eagles capitalized on the fact that Wentz had more time left on his original deal, providing an incentive for Wentz to get a deal done. This gives Wentz a lot more new money than he was schedule to get this season, and at the same time - the Eagles get him at a much more reduced price if you stretch out his cost over the entire duration of his contract.

The Cowboys could be looking to do the same for Dak as he’s scheduled to make just $2 million this season. A similar type of extension would also drive Prescott’s total annual cost down as well.

The Eagles are banking on the idea that Wentz’ best days are still to come. That’s why they made him the fourth-highest paid quarterback in the league, jumping ahead of Matt Ryan. When the Cowboys give Dak his new deal, they will be hoping for the same.

The team has revamped the offense with a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, new quarterbacks coach in Jon Kitna, and a slew of new weapons at his disposal. With receivers like Amari Cooper, Randall Cobb, and the dynamic pass-catching rookie running back Tony Pollard - the table is set for Prescott to have a big season.

Maybe it would be wise for the Cowboys to get an extension done sooner versus later before Prescott ends up being even more expensive.