QB Dak Prescott excited to be back on field with Dallas Cowboys but playing it smart
Dak Prescott says he can play in a game right now and be successful.
That may be true but seven months after suffering a compound fracture and dislocation in his right ankle, sidelining him for the 11 games of the 2020 season and undergoing two surgeries, the Dallas Cowboys aren’t taking chances with their newly-minted franchise quarterback.
Prescott is well ahead of his rehab schedule, in fact he considers himself fully healed and he has no residual pain from the injury.
That has been evident and exciting from the first two days of OTA practices where he has done all the individual and 7-on-7 drills with his teammates for the first time since the gruesome injury against the New York Giants last October.
“It felt great after long months of recovery,” Prescott said. “The main goal is to just get back out there with my teammates, getting back on the field, running in the huddle, joining the camaraderie on the field. There is so much we can build with the team and me personally. I’m excited to know I’m getting back and able to be a part of it.”
It was also noticeable and decisive that the Cowboys kept Prescott out of team drills and out of harm’s way.
It’s all about being smart with Prescott, who signed a four-year, $160 million contract in March, two months before the start of training camp and four months before the start of the 2021 season when he will be truly good to go.
“It’s just being cautious and being smart in the fact that I’m not doing the things when there’s a pass rush or guys potentially falling at the legs or something of that nature,” Prescott said. “As far as saying, ‘I can’t do drills or I can’t do something’, I’m pretty much full go.”
Let coach Mike McCarthy tell it, Prescott has been full go for some time. He has no doubt about him being ready for training camp and the start of the season.
What he’s done the past couple of days with his teammates is just the beginning.
“He’s been moving with a lot of confidence for some time now,” McCarthy said. “Really, we’re just focusing on the footwork and getting back through each concept, particularly the QB movements. He’s really capable of doing everything. We’re just being cautious by keeping him out of the team periods.
“It’s more precaution on the medical staff and myself and just being smart there. But he looks great. He’s put a ton of work into this.”
McCarthy said Prescott will be held out of team periods until training camp.
But the quarterback said he felt ready to go for a little over a month when he started “jumping on his leg, landing on the leg alone, cutting off this leg and doing a lot of things I’d naturally do in a game and doing them in a reactive form, not necessarily calculated.”
He had no problem throwing 30-yard outs in practice Tuesday and zinging the ball with confidence.
But he admitted his legs were tired towards the end of practice Tuesday, causing an interception by Deante Burton on an underthrown deep ball to CeeDee Lamb.
“I felt it more than I did [Monday],” Prescott said. “No excuses. It’s just something I’ve got to move forward and continue to build that endurance.”
The legs are important to everything a quarterback does and Prescott said he will require an extended warmup before practice and games to get his body going, more than his teammates and more than what he has done in the past.
It’s something he says he will continue doing long after the injury concerns have passed.
At this point, Prescott says it’s more mental than physical as he has learned to trust his leg again. He said that it has been a gradual process, but that he has no doubts now.
“You guys saw me handling the ball and carrying out my fake,” Prescott said. “A couple of weeks ago I may have been a little bit more timid where the last few days I was really trying to push it and trying to go further than I normally would carrying out the fake. Just for that psychological effect where it’s, ‘Hey, it’s good, You’re fine. You see, you’re doing it.’
“So the more reps happen, the better and better it feels.”
