Dak Prescott champions Jadeveon Clowney's return, citing his game-changing impact and leadership for the Cowboys.
The Dallas Cowboys' defense has been much-maligned this season, and rightly so, but one player has done his best to buck the trend.
Veteran defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, you could argue, has been the most consistent - and best - player on beleaguered coordintor Matt Eberflus' defense.
The fact that he came off the couch to lead the Cowboys in sacks (8.5) is an indictment on the rest of the unit, but it shows there's still plenty of juice left in Clowney's tank.
His 3.0 sacks, forced fumble, and fumble recovery, along with four tackles for loss and three quarterback hits in Week 18 against the New York Giants? That's an exclamation mark on his year with Dallas.
And make no mistake, Dak Prescott wants Jadeveon to return in 2026.
"Yeah, we need him, we want him," Prescott said. "He goes out and makes a game like this, and it's like, damn, bro, you making the price (to re-sign him) high. The type of guy he is, the type of player, the leader, honestly, he's somebody that I want around, somebody that I think that we need around.
"He's been awesome. He's been a great teammate. Super thankful to have him this season, I hope it's not one season."
With the Cowboys set to have a new defensive coordinator, that might play on Clowney's mind as he contemplates his NFL future.
He came here on a one-year, $3.5 million deal. And as Dak says, that price just went up. Is the former first-overall pick in his NFL Draft now worth double that on the free-agency market?
There's no denying that his season will have other teams interested, and the Cowboys aren't in the business of getting into bidding wars. So, get pen to paper as soon as possible.
The lack of a consistent pass rush was glaring, even with Clowney and his 8.5 sacks.
So, keeping the veteran is paramount for the Cowboys this offseason.
And maybe Dak will be doing all he can to make sure it happens.