Dak Prescott Creates NFL History Due to Blockbuster Aaron Rodgers Trade to the New York Jets

Aaron Rodgers’ trade to the New York Jets has majorly contributed to shifting the power dynamics between the AFC and NFC conferences. Especially in the quarterback landscape. Rodgers joins a stacked AFC conference featuring the likes of Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, and Lamar Jackson. And in doing so, he has left Dallas Cowboys signal-caller Dak Prescott holding a very prestigious honor in the NFL.

Aaron Rodgers spent 18 years with the Green Bay Packers before deciding to take his talents to the Metropolis this offseason. This automatically pushed Prescott to the top spot after A-Rod vacated it. So what is this unique position Dak took over from the 4x NFL MVP?

Dak Prescott is the new leader after Aaron Rodgers

As Aaron Rodgers starts afresh in year one for the Jets, Dak Prescott is now the longest-tenured starting quarterback, for a single team, in the NFL. Dak is the only remaining QB who has started for the same team for at least six years. Before the 2022 offseason, Dak had Aaron Rodgers and Derek Carr on the list with him. However, the Raiders said goodbye to Carr, and Rodgers left for New York.

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After being picked in the fourth round of the 2016 draft, Dak secured a starting role following former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo suffering an injury. And he hasn’t looked back ever since.

This season, Dak once again failed to take the Cowboys to championship glory, prolonging the franchise’s Super Bowl drought to 27 years. However, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones reinstated his faith in his passer and Dak is slated to become the starter for the seventh season in 2023.

Who are the other long-running starting QBs in the league?

While 39-year-old Aaron Rodgers wasn’t a surprising leader at the top, the current list after Rodgers leaving Green Bay has some pretty unexpected names. Like Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, who’s been the starter since Week 1 of 2018. Kirk is third on the list behind Dak and KC Chiefs’ 2x Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, who has been starting since Week 17 of 2017.

Things have certainly changed in the NFL in the last decade or two. 10 years ago, the fluctuations on this quarterback tenure list were not as much as today. Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Phillip Rivers, and Drew Brees all remained consistently on the list during the 2010s and 20s. Something that has not stayed constant over the recent years. For now, Dak will enjoy his position. Till the time comes to move on from America’s Team, just like Aaron Rodgers moved on from the Cheeseheads.

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