Deion Sanders and Shedeur Sanders to the Cowboys CAN happen, but it’s complicated

Let’s dive into the wildest scenario in the NFL.

It started as a joke. In March of 2024, in our company Slack room, I laughed about how the “most Cowboys thing possible” would be for Jerry Jones to move on from Mike McCarthy after the season, hire Deion Sanders, and find a way to draft Shedeur Sanders as their starting QB.

At the time, it was so unimaginable that it became a recurring joke — but I couldn’t shake the idea of it being so preposterous that it could become a reality. In August, I wrote up the scenario, “Deion and Shedeur Sanders taking over the Cowboys is the chaotic future the NFL needs.” Fast-forward to now, and it’s looking like an ever-increasing reality that at least half of this will be true. Sanders is reportedly “intrigued” with the idea but is currently hedging his bets and acting like he really wants to stay in Colorado — at least for now.

Anyone who knows an iota about Sanders knows that he’s always about moving forward, always about advancing — and skipping the step of coaching a power school in College Football to take over the Cowboys would be extremely on-brand.

Like him or not, Sanders has thrived at every stop. He has a 40-18 record as a coach, which includes rebuilding seasons at Jackson State and Colorado. In short order he’s transformed teams into winners, and at this point, Dallas is less interested in someone who can take the next step, and more actually putting together some solid seasons. Couple this with a football environment where a coach’s personality can be a difference-maker in free agency, and at the very least you can say it’s interesting.

That brings us to the other element of this scenario, and the one that’s much more difficult than simply getting Deion to sign on the bottom line: How does he manage to bring Shedeur to the Cowboys?

While landing Shedeur isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker for Coach Prime, continuing to coach his son in the NFL would be a dream. Deion has been open about how he wants to be involved in the draft process to ensure Shedeur ends up with the right coach in the right situation — and finding a way to coach his son would check those boxes. In addition, there’s nothing Deion likes more than being a part of history — which would be achieved if he can manage to draft and start his son.

The biggest stumbling block is Dak Prescott. The Cowboys have a quarterback already, and a highly-paid one at that. Not only is Dak owed big money on the extension he signed in 2024, but he has a no-trade clause that could throw a wrench in the works. That said, if Dallas were to hire Sanders then would you really want to be coached by someone you actively stopped being able to draft his own son?

If we imagine Deion is hired, and Dak is put on the block to draft Shedeur then there are two scenarios that make sense: The Tennessee Titans or Las Vegas Raiders. Both teams are in dire need of an established quarterback, with histories of whiffing on picks to the point where the motivation would be to win right now. The Browns exist as a dark horse, but they’re in such cap hell that it’s tough to imagine a way for them to absorb Prescott’s contract in any sensible way.

Potential trades

Tennessee Titans receive: QB Dak Prescott, 2025 1st round pick (No. 12)
Dallas Cowboys receive: 2025 1st round pick (No. 1)

This is the cleanest, simplest scenario to envision. It would give the Titans a quarterback they can win with right now and a high enough pick to get another player. It’s too early in the process to know how players will project, but as it stands, there’s a lot of hype behind the idea of the Titans taking Miami QB Cam Ward with the No. 1 pick.

Ward is a gamble. This is a bad QB class. In any other draft he would not be the top pick, but that’s the level of desperation we’re in for some of these QB-needy teams.

In addition, the Titans have a projected $35M in open cap space for 2025 — which would allow them to absorb some of Dak’s contract (which we’ll get to in a moment).

Las Vegas Raiders receive: QB Dak Prescott
Dallas Cowboys receive: 2025 1st round pick (No. 6)

This would then necessitate another trade, which would be:

Cleveland Browns receive: Two 2025 1st round picks (No. 6, No. 12)
Dallas Cowboys receive: 2025 1st round pick (No. 2)

There’s an assumption the Browns would take a QB at the No. 2 pick, but that’s not really the move they need to make. This team’s window is open right now and they built this thing to win, so finding another path to a veteran QB could be the better option.

Two first-round picks would give this team a way to land two high-caliber players would be intriguing for them over just taking someone at No. 2. It’s also unclear if Travis Hunter would be the right fit for the team, with a pass rusher like Abdul Carter likely being available at No. 6 and being better for the organization.

The Raiders have $85M in cap space, so this works very easily if they land Dak.

Dak Prescott’s salary situation

Prescott signed a four-year, $240M extension in September of 2024. If the Cowboys were to trade Prescott they would add $104M to their dead cap figure, and need to add roughly $14M to their salary cap in a trade.

Dallas is projected to be $4M over the cap already, but we’re not talking about a figure that is totally insurmountable. Restructuring and dead money is the norm in the NFL now, and pushing problems to the future is standard practice. It’s not sound management, but it’s a way to move forward — and in this scenario it could actually work with a rookie QB on a cheaper contract.

It would involve the Cowboys needing to restructure deals for CeeDee Lamb, Micah Parsons, and Trevon Diggs — but they might have done that regardless of a wild Dak trade scenario. Is it difficult? Yes. Impossible? Far from in. In fact, making a move like this is a lot easier than many have suggested with it comes to Deion joining the Cowboys.

Could this actually happen?

There are a staggering amount of moving parts to all this. Is Deion Sanders the right pick for the Cowboys? Are they ready to move on from Dak? Does Jerry Jones think having both the Sanders’ is the right move over Prescott and a different coach? It’s all pie in the sky right now, but let’s say there’s an outside chance.

Ultimately, there is a way to get Deion and Shedeur on the Cowboys. This can happen. So brace yourself for the potential fireworks.