Cowboys unconcerned if Dak doesn't play in preseason?

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports

Cowboys unconcerned if Dak Prescott doesn't play in preseason?

By Zac Wassink | Last updated Aug 11, 2021 4:01 PM ET

Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott understandably didn't play in last Thursday's Hall of Fame Game versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is working to recover from the compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that he suffered last October and, most recently, the shoulder strain that bothered him earlier this summer.

The Cowboys face the Arizona Cardinals in their second preseason contest on Friday evening, and Dallas executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones suggested Prescott could remain sidelined beyond just this weekend:

Stephen Jones said Dak could play in preseason but – “I know people worry about that, but I think that’s overrated. Dak Prescott knows how to play the game of football and whether he plays a series or two in Houston isn’t going to affect how he’s going to play against Tampa
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 11, 2021

Per Jonny Auping of the club's website, Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy suggested Wednesday that Prescott could take the field against the Houston Texans on Aug. 21

"I hope so," McCarthy said about the 28-year-old potentially facing an opposing defense this month. "It would be great."

Prescott previously explained he wants to "get some reps before it's real" and before Dallas opens the regular season at the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 9.

"Just to have a live defense coming at me, hopefully not take too many licks because I have great protection, but that's part of the game, and I think it would obviously be great to get up from that, wipe it off and be just another process of burying the injury. I think it will be huge," Prescott said in July.

He'll have to wait at least another week to get that chance.

Zac Wassink

Zac Wassink is a longtime sports news writer and PFWA member who began his career in 2006 and has had his work featured on Yardbarker, MSN, Yahoo Sports and Bleacher Report. He is also a football and futbol aficionado who is probably yelling about Tottenham Hotspur at the moment and who chanted for Matt Harvey to start the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2015 World Series at Citi Field. You can find him on X at @ZacWassink

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