Healthy Dak Prescott says Dallas Cowboys eager to ‘prove people wrong’ after key losses
How do you know that Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is no longer a young rising star but rather a grizzled veteran heading into his seventh season in the prime of his career?
He is starting to forget things?
Like how long he has been in the NFL.
“Honestly, I said six [years] about a month ago and [running back Ezekiel] Zeke [Elliott] said, ‘no, we’re going on 7,’” Prescott recalled with a smile. “I don’t know if it’s the year I missed that I’m blocking out or what. It goes fast but I’m blessed.”
It seems like yesterday that Prescott took the NFL by storm as a precocious 2016 fourth-round pick, replacing an injured Tony Romo as the Cowboys quarterback and leading the team to a 13-3 record while winning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.
Prescott is admittedly taken aback by “how fast” time has passed.
But he is blessed and embracing his role as a leader and the face of the franchise.
“Blessed to have this team, have this platform, have the teammates we do,” Prescott said. “In seven years, to be one of the older guys it’s different obviously from the time I came in but knowing the impact I have on these young rookies and not just me all these guys and players — expedite their growth, make sure they’re ready to play now and get them ready for training camp.”
The biggest blessing for the Cowboys as they continue their offseason work before heading to training camp in late July is Prescott himself. He is healthy and fully engaged for the first time since before the 2019 season.
“[This is the] healthiest I’ve been in a long, long time,” he said. “So, I’m just blessed just to start there and to be able to come in healthy and just to work on myself and just overall my whole game and not just particularly getting one element of my body healthy.”
Prescott missed the 2020 offseason holding out in contract dispute. He lost his brother to suicide and suffered depression during that same spring.
Then he sustained a fractured ankle during the 2020 season, costing him the final 11 games. He spent that offseason rehabbing from two surgeries and didn’t work out with his teammates until training camp.
But this year, Prescott has been a full participant in the offseason program for the first time since coach Mike McCarthy took over as head coach before the 2020 season.
He is excited to run plays with his teammates, get on the same page with his receivers and work on his game, including his footwork.
“Everything honestly,” Prescott said when asked what he is doing now that he couldn’t do last year. “We’re testing 10-yard starts the other day, and mine might not have been what I wanted it to be. But I can tell you it was much better than it was last year.
“I’m improving. It’s just about getting better in every aspect of my game and not just necessarily rehab. I feel great, it’s the footwork, the foot speed and it’s just being consistent throughout. I’m running plays. It feels great.”
Prescott also knows it has to be great.
If there is one thing he has learned in his now seven years with the NFL is that the honeymoon is over and the only feel good story that matters is the Cowboys finally becoming winners again.
A fully healthy and engaged Prescott is the biggest source of hope within the organization during an offseason that has seen an apparent loss of talent after the departures of receiver Amari Cooper and defensive end Randy Gregory.
Prescott is not buying that the Cowboys have lost talent. But he also knows that the team didn’t win with the departed players either.
His focus is on improving and taking the next step with the players they have.
“We know what we have in this locker room and we know what we can be,” he said. “Talent is one thing. But if you don’t fulfill it doesn’t really mean anything. I’m excited for those guys to be able to do that and for them to prove people wrong. I know what this team has.
“We definitely didn’t take a step back. We’re going to continue to get better and that’s what this offseason is about and that’s what moving forward is.”
The Cowboys can do that because they have a healthy Prescott heading into his seventh season.
Time flies.
