Cowboys would be nuts to play Dak Prescott in preseason
Even if Dak Prescott is deemed healthy, the Dallas Cowboys would be insane to play their star quarterback during the preseason.
Some things make for difficult decisions. Some don’t. This falls into the latter category.
Dak Prescott missed the final 11 games of the 2020 NFL season with a grotesquely broken and dislocated ankle. Since, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback has been dealing with a shoulder injury requiring two MRIs this summer.
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Prescott, who missed Dallas’ first two preseason games against the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, might be able to play when the Cowboys take on the Houston Texans later this week. On Monday, Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy broached the subject with reporters, per ESPN:
“We’ll see how the week goes, but there’s no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play against Houston. This is more about we don’t want to create a setback possibly. His volume of throwing leading up to that point, I mean, he was probably in midseason form from the amount of work he put in over the summer, coming out of the OTAs. Just trying to get that volume back to where it belongs.”
Reading McCarthy’s statement and going a bit between the lines, it seems a sure bet we won’t see No. 4 anytime soon. The Cowboys don’t play a meaningful game until Week 1, when they take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFL’s opening game on Sept. 9.
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If Prescott plays a second of action before then, Dallas has lost its collective mind.
The Cowboys should only be concerned about figuring out the bottom of the 53-man roster, settling a few positional battles and making sure Prescott is as close to 100. percent as possible before he faces a ferocious Bucs’ pass rush. Otherwise, everything else is for show as Dallas prepares for a season in which many believe it should win the NFC East and perhaps be a factor come January.
For that to become reality, Prescott needs to be healthy for 17 games and give Dallas a chance to utilize its hoard of weapons including receivers Michale Gallup, CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper. Otherwise, we’ll see another Dallas team limp to the finish with backup quarterbacks and an overwhelmed defense trying to compete come November and December.
For McCarthy, the choice is easy. Leave Prescott on the sideline until September.
