By Jon Machota, Saad Yousuf and Jelani Scott
The Dallas Cowboys plan to place quarterback Dak Prescott on injured reserve with his hamstring injury, the team’s executive vice president Stephen Jones said Friday. The Cowboys were already preparing to be without Prescott in the immediate future, and once he’s officially placed on IR, he will be out for a minimum of four weeks.
“Right now, I don’t think anyone knows whether it will be four weeks, six weeks or the season,” Jones said during his Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan. “We’ll just have to continue to monitor that and see where it takes us.”
The news comes just a few days after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones deemed Prescott, 31, as likely for an IR stint due to the hamstring injury he suffered in Week 9. Prescott exited at the end of the third quarter of the Cowboys’ 27-21 loss to the Atlanta Falcons and did not return. He later told reporters the injury was “something I’ve never felt” and that he “felt something pull” in his hamstring. Backup QB Cooper Rush will start Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Prior to exiting against Atlanta, Prescott completed 18 of 24 passes for 133 yards and a touchdown while adding 30 rushing yards on three carries. The three-time Pro Bowler has thrown for 1,978 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.
Prescott’s outlook murky going forward
Prescott was in the weight room at The Star on Thursday while the team practiced. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Friday morning on The Fan that Prescott “doesn’t want surgery.”
Jones added: “He wants to be on the field and go for it. We’ll just see how it goes here.”
This would be a bigger deal if the Cowboys had been playing better this season. They’ve already lost five games and their next four are against the Eagles, Houston Texans, Washington Commanders and New York Giants. There’s a very good chance that they go 1-3 during that stretch. If that’s the case, there’s really no reason to rush Prescott back. He’ll miss at least the next four games and possibly more.
There’s a good chance Dallas ends up playing this season out with Rush and Trey Lance handling quarterback duties. The season continues to look headed for the Cowboys drafting in the top 10 in April. — Jon Machota, Cowboys staff writer
Cowboys can’t rush QB’s return
Given the injury is more severe than initially expected, the Cowboys need to take a very cautious approach with Prescott as it relates to this situation. Hypothetically, even if the Cowboys can survive this stretch without Prescott, assuming it’s only four weeks, that probably means a 2-2 record. The likely thing is that it’ll be worse than that, and it’s also possible that Prescott’s injury will take longer than the minimum four weeks.
Even if the Cowboys miraculously are in the playoff hunt when Prescott is ready to return, it’s important that the Cowboys are honest with themselves on the ceiling for this team. This was a 3-5 team with Prescott under center, and the record is not deceptive; they truly are a subpar team that doesn’t have a deep playoff run in them for this season. On top of all of that, the Cowboys just gave Prescott the richest contract in NFL history in September. Prescott isn’t just the present; he’s also the Cowboys’ future and their biggest investment. They need to protect him and ensure he’s at his best for years to come. — Saad Yousuf, Cowboys staff writer
Required reading
(Photo: Brett Davis / Imagn Images)
