Cowboys' Dak Prescott to be 'full participant' in training camp

The Dallas Cowboys were understandably cautious with their handling of quarterback Dak Prescott throughout offseason activities as he works to fully recover from the gruesome compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle he suffered last October. 

Per Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, though, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said on Wednesday Prescott should "be a full participant" when the club holds its first training camp practice Thursday. 

"But it’s still a projection, and we’ll see how it goes," McCarthy added. "We will watch him. But the way we approached the offseason program was to keep him out of the team drills, but he will participate in the team drills. That was really the last hurdle as I view it." 

As ESPN's Todd Archer noted for a piece published early Wednesday morning, it remains unclear how much Prescott will play in next month's preseason games, if at all. There are also reasonable concerns about Cowboys players eventually hitting the 85% COVID-19 vaccination threshold that allows for the loosening of some virus-related protocols, but owner Jerry Jones attempted to pour cold water over those concerns Wednesday by suggesting the team's vaccination rate shouldn't be an issue by the time Dallas faces the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 5.