Dallas Cowboys may not see Dak Prescott in a game until season opener, coach says
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott took another step toward being ready for the season opener when he returned to practice on a limited basis Monday.
He did some individual drills but he was kept out of competitive team drills.
Prescott had not practiced since July 28 when he removed himself from the field because of arm soreness. He was diagnosed with a strained right shoulder.
Prescott, who was shut down upon the recommendation of trainers from the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees, began throwing again last week.
A second MRI exam on Saturday confirmed that the injury was healing well, setting the stage for Prescott to return to practice Monday.
He could take a limited amount of snaps in Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium, but that is not the priority.
The main focus is for to be good to go for the Sept. 9 opener against Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Cowboys will continue to be conservative with Prescott.
“The biggest thing is really to stay on course with his work,” coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’re playing it cautiously. You have to build up his volume of throws again. We just really don’t want to put him in a position where he can re-injure it.”
McCarthy said if Prescott doesn’t play against Houston, he definitely won’t play in the preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 29.
That game is for players fighting to make the roster, McCarthy said.
“We’ll see how the week goes, but there’s no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play against Houston,” he said. “This is more about we don’t want to create a setback possibly.”
Prescott hasn’t seen an opposing pass rush in more than 10 months when he suffered a compound fracture and dislocation in his right ankle against the New York Giants in Week 5 on Oct. 11.
He underwent two surgeries and spent the offseason rehabbing only to be sidelined by a shoulder strain on the first day in pads.
Prescott is certainly itching to return to live action, but he will have to continue to be patient.
The injury likely occurred because of an intense of amount of throwing before training camp.
“He was probably in midseason form from the amount of work he put in over the summer, coming out of the OTAs,” McCarthy said. “Just trying to get that volume back to where it belongs.”
McCarthy said the Cowboys would have loved for Prescott to see some action in the preseason. But it is not the priority now.
They have remained confident that he would be ready to go against the Buccaneers.
And now they are even more emboldened.
This story was originally published August 16, 2021 at 7:12 PM.
