Let’s circle back to Dallas’ inability to extend Prescott early in the offseason. The Cowboys have just $10.2 million in cap space after Michael Gallup’s post-June 1 cut hit the books. Theoretically, they could save quite a bit more by extending Prescott now.

According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, a simple restructuring of Prescott’s contract could save roughly $18 million. Dallas could generate that space by restructuring Prescott’s deal as part of an extension. That might give the team enough space to negotiate with Lamb and/or Parsons, though Prescott would have to play along.

What the Cowboys can not do is go back to the start of the offseason and generate cap space ahead of free agency. They lost key contributors like Tyron Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Tony Pollard, Dorance Armstrong, Dante Fowler Jr. and Johnathan Hankins. Dallas signed Eric Kendricks, Ezekiel Elliott and Royce Freeman in free agency, and that’s it.

The Cowboys will now depend heavily on rookie offensive linemen Tyler Guyton and Cooper Beebe, who will both be asked to play new positions in the NFL. The alternatives along the offensive line aren’t great—they include moving Tyler Smith to left tackle and creating a hole at guard—and Dallas is eyeing several other problem areas.

Elliott, Freeman and Rico Dowdle don’t exactly form a high-upside backfield. The Cowboys still lack reliable receiver depth behind Lamb, and Kendrick alone won’t instantly fix a run defense that ranked 16th in the league last season.

Had the Cowboys extended Prescott early—possibly extending Lamb and Parsons subsequently—they might have been players in free agency. That window has closed, and there’s no denying the fact that Dallas’ roster is markedly worse than it was a year ago. That’s not ideal in a make-or-break season.

Meanwhile, teams like Philadelphia, the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions were able to improve through both free agency and the draft. All of this means that the Cowboys could be headed for disappointment in 2024 and a rebuild in 2025 and beyond.

That’s the simple reality for a franchise that stumbled with Prescott’s situation and has failed virtually every step of the way since.

*Cap and contract information via Spotrac.