Covering the Dallas Cowboys means expecting the unexpected. With the most scrutinized team in the NFL, no day is ever routine.

Take this past Monday as a perfect example: in the morning, news breaks that the Cowboys will face the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Kickoff game. Just hours later, the conversation shifts to whether Dak Prescott is a tradeable asset. And this is supposed to be the “quiet” part of the offseason.

This discussion wasn’t sparked by a breaking report or insider scoop, but rather by an insightful question from a listener of The Athletic Football Show — and a thoughtful, hypothetical response from host Robert Mays.

To be clear: this was not Mays pushing a hot take. Instead, he was responding to a purely theoretical scenario — if teams like the Bills or Chiefs wouldn’t trade Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes for even 10 first-round picks, then which top-tier quarterback could be available at the right price?

Mays began by eliminating the NFL’s clear-cut elite: Mahomes, Allen, Joe Burrow — and young, franchise-cornerstone QBs like C.J. Stroud and Jayden Daniels. Then came the surprising, but logical answer:

“Let’s just say you can make the financials work — the Cowboys would trade Dak for the right price,” Mays said. “The Dak, Kyler Murray range is probably where I land. I think that’s the right answer.”

Of course, this is more of a thought experiment than a reflection of reality. The Cowboys are not actively shopping Prescott, and his massive contract extension — signed just last year for $240 million — makes any trade extremely complex.

Still, Mays expanded on the idea:

“If you called the Cowboys after June 1 and offered them three first-round picks for Dak, I think they’d take that call.”

In theory, the logic holds. Prescott’s age (he’ll turn 32 next season) and a history of injuries affecting his mobility make him more tradeable than other veteran QBs. That said, there’s no real indication Dallas has any plans to move on from him — at least not anytime soon.

This is classic offseason content: speculative, intriguing, but ultimately just football fans and analysts playing ‘what if’. Maybe it’s a question worth revisiting in a few years. For now, Dak Prescott remains the face of the Cowboys — and the headlines will keep writing themselves.