If Dak Prescott hits the open market, Stephen A. Smith believes the star quarterback should steer clear of Foxboro.
Prescott, whose injury-plagued 2020 season was played under the terms of the franchise tag, needs a new contract this offseason. The Cowboys could tag Prescott again this spring or work out a long-term deal, but for now, the 27-year-old's future in Dallas is very much uncertain.
The two-time Pro Bowl selection would be among the best quarterback options this offseason should he become available, and the Patriots rank among the league's most QB-needy teams. But for more reasons than one, Smith believes Prescott shouldn't consider New England as a potential landing spot.
"Have we not gotten to a point -- now that Tom Brady has won his seventh championship -- who really wants to succeed Tom Brady in Foxboro?" Smith said Thursday on ESPN's "First Take." "I mean, who really wants that task? Who wants that responsibility? Because no matter what you do, anything short of a championship is not going to measure up to those folks there, as well as it shouldn't. I mean, they've been spoiled over the last two decades with the level of excellence he's been able to put forth. Obviously, in concert with Bill Belichick to some degree. But as we've learned, give Tom Brady some weapons and look at what he'll do. Bill Belichick didn't do that. That's problematic.
"So when I look at it from that perspective, I say no. The Patriots do not make sense for me right now. Let Bill Belichick -- the GM, not the coach, because he has nothing to prove as a head coach -- go out there and prove that what he can do is go about the business of surrounding the quarterback with the requisite weapons needed in order to be competitive. Particularly with the Buffalo Bills on the come-up, the Miami Dolphins on the come-up. I look at it from that perspective and I say no way Dak Prescott should end up in New England."
One has to wonder how much the Patriots are even considering Prescott as a potential quarterback upgrade. The five-year pro returning to Dallas feels like the most likely scenario, and the crop of available veteran quarterbacks this offseason is expected to be fairly robust.
Prescott to the Patriots probably is nothing more than a pipe dream, and the franchise potentially could feel that way as well. In turn, New England very well could be paying most of its mind to more realistic possibilities.
