Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is officially the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the NFL

It finally happened. The Green Bay Packers and New York Jets agreed to a trade involving quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Monday. Dallas is now over being tormented by Aaron Rodgers in a yellow helmet. As the Cowboys host the Jets in 2023, they will still see Rodgers at least one more time, two if the teams meet in the Super Bowl which would be something.

A Rodgers-less reality has been on the horizon for some time for Green Bay, which is why this hardly feels shocking. What is a bit startling though is the tiny detail that is now factual thanks to Rodgers’ departure from Green Bay.

Dak Prescott is now the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the NFL.

Isn’t that wild? Prescott became the Cowboys starting quarterback just seven years ago, but the turnover in the league over the last two offseasons has catapulted him to the top of the tenure list.

Last offseason the Atlanta Falcons dealt Matt Ryan to the Indianapolis Colts, and incidentally Ryan took over as the Falcons starter when Rodgers took over for Brett Favre (who was also also traded to the Jets) in 2008. With Ryan gone, that left Rodgers alone at the top with Derek Carr right behind him as he took over for the Raiders back in 2014.

But the Raiders released Carr earlier this offseason and now Rodgers is obviously gone. This means that no other starting quarterback in the NFL has held their post longer than Dak Prescott. So if you feel like things have changed a lot as of late, you are absolutely correct.

If you want some more “I cannot believe this” context, then consider that next in line on the tenure list is Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Chiefs, although that one is sort of cheating. While the Chiefs drafted Mahomes in 2017 he did not become the full-time starter until one year later. Both Kirk Cousins and Josh Allen also took over their respective teams in 2018 so there some room for ambiguity there.

Time moves fast.