The Seattle Seahawks’ current quarterback situation isn’t the best in the NFL, but they at least seem to be on stable footing with a solid enough starter in Geno Smith and a possible successor in Sam Howell.

So then, why would they disrupt that situation to sign a free agent next offseason who will likely cost over $50 million year? Trick question, they wouldn’t, but some analysts seem to think it’s a good idea for some reason.

Recently, both ESPN’s Bill Barnwell and Nick Korte of Over the Cap have linked the Seahawks to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who is due to hit free agency next spring. Prescott is certainly a good signal caller, but it doesn’t really make sense for the Seahawks to pursue him for numerous reasons.

Firstly, when comparing Smith and Prescott’s stats over the past two seasons, there really isn’t much of a difference. In his two seasons as the Seahawks’ starting quarterback, Smith has completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 7,906 yards, 50 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and a 96.8 passer rating, plus 521 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Over that same time, Prescott has completed 68.2 of his passes for 7,376 yards, 59 touchdowns, 24 interceptions and a 100 passer rating, along with 424 yards and three touchdowns rushing.

Are Prescott’s stats marginally better than Smith’s? Maybe. However, they certainly aren’t that much better to warrant paying him over twice as much money as Smith, who makes $25 million per year on the terms of his current contract.

Additionally, the Seahawks are already projected to be over next year’s salary cap, so they are in no position to go out and splurge on a new quarterback even if they wanted to. Seattle general manager John Schneider is also very reserved when it comes to quarterback acquisitions, so a move like that would be very out of character for him, especially after trading for Howell this spring.

All this isn’t to say that Prescott is bad or that whatever team that signs him will regret it, only that the Seahawks don’t make sense for him and history suggests they won’t be looking into signing him in the event the Cowboys somehow let him hit the market.

Off Inwood Road, and just to the east of Love Field, lies a Dallas barbecue institution that has been quietly smoking meat for half a century. Big Al’s Smokehouse was opened by Al Plaskoff in 1974. These days, his daughter Lauren Weiner runs the place, along with pitmaster Pedro Garcia, who has been there since 1979 when he was 18 years old, and general manager Jonathan McZeal, who has stuck around for the last 16 years.

“For this year, we’re trying to celebrate Big Al and that we’re open 50 years later,” Weiner tells Eater Dallas. We’re not an investor group, we’re a woman-owned business.” Weiner says there “wasn’t a plan” for the business. She recalls always working on things for Big Al’s, even from afar, when she left Dallas, by building its website or handling its marketing. “Then, when he got sick, I was here all the time, and it evolved from there. Without selling or closing, this was always going to be a family business.”

Being the second-generation owner hasn’t always been easy. “A lot of these people worked for, respected, and knew my dad. He’s Big Al and I’m very small Laurie,” she says with a laugh, referring to her petite stature. “They knew me so well that they knew I was going to do everything I could to make it work.”

In honor of the milestone, Big Al’s has partnered with another local company celebrating its golden jubilee, J&R Manufacturing. The restaurant exclusively uses its Oyler smoker, a commercial-sized smoker that uses hardwood and offset to smoke its meats. Big Al’s has used hickory wood to smoke for five decades.

“My dad wasn’t a quick to change guy,” Weiner says, noting that when the restaurant was newer, her dad and the staff would joke about doing inventory by counting how many buns they sold. The restaurant’s biggest change under Big Al was adding sweet tea in the ‘90s, which Weiner says “was really hard for him.” Eventually the menu grew to be more family-style dishes and catering. “We didn’t switch to [using] the rubs and bark until the early 2010s. We were purists [who] smoked dark meat and trimmed it on the block.”

Under Weiner, the biggest change to the menu is fresh-cut, twice-fried french fries. “I don’t like frozen fries,” she says in complete seriousness. “So we hand cut all our fries.”

Weiner notes the restaurant is doing several events to give back to the community, mentioning Second Chance, a program from the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association that helps reintroduce incarcerated people trained in food service back into the work force. “Honestly, hiring and maintaining my staff is the biggest challenge I have,” Weiner says. “If somebody goes into the system and comes out with some training and a passion for food service, they’re somebody I’d like to meet. We’re very open to people who have made mistakes in the past and now want to do something different with their lives.”

Big Al’s will host deals and celebrations all year, leading up to something “big” that Weiner is planning for September — and that will include adding a Sunday brunch. It has added a Big Al’s margarita and spiked sweet tea to the menu and a happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. daily.

Associated Press

Minnesota United FC (8-4-5, fourth in the Western Conference) vs. FC Dallas (4-8-5, 13th in the Western Conference)

Frisco, Texas; Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE FC Dallas +108, Minnesota United FC +236, Draw +241; over/under is 2.5 goals

BOTTOM LINE: A game after shutting out Saint Louis City SC 2-0, Dallas faces Minnesota United.

Dallas is 4-5-5 in conference play. Dallas is 4-0-0 when it scores a pair of goals.

United is 5-3-4 against Western Conference opponents. United is ninth in the league drawing 98 corner kicks, averaging 5.8 per game.

The matchup Wednesday is the second meeting this season between the two teams. The last meeting ended tied 1-1.

TOP PERFORMERS: Petar Musa has scored five goals and added two assists for Dallas. Asier Illarramendi Andonegi has one goal and two assists over the last 10 games.

Tanitoluwa Oluwatimikhin Oluwaseyi has scored seven goals with three assists for United. Robin Lod has three goals and five assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Dallas: 3-4-3, averaging 1.4 goals, 4.1 shots on goal and 3.9 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.5 goals per game.

United: 5-2-3, averaging 1.8 goals, 5.2 shots on goal and 5.3 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.4 goals per game.

NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: Dallas: Geovane Jesus (injured), Alan Velasco (injured), Paxton Pomykal (injured).

United: Hugo Bachrach (injured), DJ Taylor (injured), Teemu Pukki (injured).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.