Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has shown he is not afraid to take charge, bark at teammates

There have been many questions this off-season about leadership on the Dallas Cowboys following the retirement of longtime tight end Jason Witten, who led by example but also wasn’t shy about holding his teammates accountable when they weren’t getting the job done.

Who had the credibility, courage and respect to dog cuss a teammate out when necessary?

The answer was obvious.

As the Cowboys head into minicamp on Tuesday, quarterback Dak Prescott has already shown he was the unquestioned man for the job.

He did so as a rookie, and so far, he’s proven through in the last two OTAs that his bite can be as sharp as a bullet pass on a slant route.

In each of the past two weeks, Prescott chewed out tight end Rico Gathers for not getting out of bounds and guard Chaz Green for a false start.

“I think I did it times last year, but it comes with being comfortable,” Prescott said. “The matureness of knowing I can get on guys, especially when you go over something and they just make a mental error. You know they are better than that. When a guy is better than that, I am going to let them know and, hopefully, it just raises his game.”

Offensive coordinator Scott Linehan agreed that Prescott is more comfortable being a leader and holding his teammates accountable, because he is in his third year.

But he said it’s always been the job of the quarterback to be tough, demanding and uncompromising when it comes to mistakes in practice and games. It’s a role Prescott is comfortable with, and he has earned the respect of his teammates to do so.

“He doesn’t do it for show,” Linehan said. “He has to take care of his business first. You have to have credibility. Guys respect him. They know how hard he works. He is fighting to perfect everything. You got to that. That position has to hold himself accountable and hold everybody else accountable. It naturally goes there and he naturally does it. He does a great job of it.”

This story was originally published June 12, 2018 at 12:25 AM with the headline "Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has shown he is not afraid to take charge, bark at teammates."