As Cowboys’ Dak Prescott enters his 30s, what topics are at the top of his mind?
When the Dallas Cowboys begin its 2023 season on Sunday Night Football on Sept. 10 against the New York Giants, quarterback Dak Prescott will be 30 years old.
He started his first game in Dallas against the Giants as a 23-year-old rookie in 2016. Now, heading into his eighth year, Prescott is the fourth longest-tenured Cowboy adjusting to leading players much younger than him.
“I’ve always felt older, I guess,” Prescott said at his youth camp on Saturday. “Being 30 hasn’t really bothered me. But yeah, I am the old guy going into year eight. Seeing some of the young guys, some of the rookies, I see the difference in eight years. It’s fun though. It’s challenging at times. I need to make sure I’m connected and stay in the now, what’s cool and what’s not. This game is beautiful. It doesn’t matter how old you are, you play the game.”
As Prescott gets older, he’s had two thoughts on his mind. After missing five games in 2022 with a fractured right thumb and 11 games in 2020 for a compound fracture and dislocated right ankle, his health is becoming an emphasis in his offseason training.
“With injuries, understanding what I’ve been through throughout my career and realizing you’re not going to have forever to play this game,” Prescott said. “I’m blessed for each moment I get and each opportunity on and off the field. I’m trying to make the most of it.”
Through seven seasons, Prescott and the Cowboys have been to the playoffs four times yet only won two games. Prescott said the urgency of wanting to win has become more important this offseason, especially after a change in offensive play callers.
Dallas fired offensive coordinator Kellen Moore in January and said head coach Mike McCarthy will be calling plays in the 2023 season. Prescott said the offense will blend the aggressiveness of past seasons and West Coast style systems from McCarthy’s past with the Green Bay Packers.
Prescott and the Cowboys’ receivers haven’t trained together yet this offseason, but he said they will two weeks before training camp. With the new offense, Prescott wants to make sure he and his teammates understand each other personally and in every aspect of the system so they are ready for the season and do not spend weeks behind as they continue to learn.
“Coming together, we’re making sure we understand the importance of keeping camp running,” Prescott said. “We have to make sure we hit day one of training camp at full stride, and I think that’s what this week is. Getting together, throwing, having that camaraderie. We’re in this as brothers, we’re going to commit to each other and we’re going to need each other. We need to understand how the game is going to be called. We need to create an identity. When you switch play callers, a big point of it is that you have to know who you are, what you’re going to do and how you’re going to attack defenses. We have an idea, but we need to refine it.”