The Cowboys had hoped to work out a long-term contract with Dak Prescott before the tag deadline. They didn’t.
So the Cowboys were forced to use the franchise tag on the quarterback, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News reports. The team, unsurprisingly, chose the exclusive tag.
It marks the seventh time -- on five players -- the Cowboys have used the franchise tag. Three times -- with Ken Hamlin in 2008, Dez Bryant in 2015 and DeMarcus Lawrence in 2019 -- the Cowboys worked out long-term deals with the tagged players before training camp.
Dallas hopes to get a long-term deal completed before the July 15 deadline, but the sides have talked for more than a year without reaching an agreement.
The only quarterbacks who have played under the tag the entire season are Kirk Cousins in 2016 and 2017 in Washington and Drew Brees in 2005 in San Diego.
While the Cowboys continue to work on a deal for receiver Amari Cooper, the clock is ticking toward free agency. The receiver, whom the team acquired in a trade during the 2018 season, appears headed to the open market.
Cooper has expressed a desire to stay in Dallas, but he might find more money waiting for him elsewhere.