There's absolutely reason to be worried about Dak Prescott's ankle

"Honestly, I'm getting older. It's the same ankle that I snapped, and I had a nasty surgery on four years ago so a couple of hard days of training and you know, you get a little sore and you're going on a fishing trip, and you want to protect it and make sure things don't get worse," he explained, per ESPN.

"Literally, it's absolutely nothing. People are reaching, trying to make things that they aren't. I'm getting older and have to take care of my body, have to be smart. If I can take precautions and lessen something by putting on a boot, I'll do it. Sorry that I caused such a worry."

While this is certainly a reasonable explanation from Prescott, and he's sorry he caused people to worry — there absolutely should be a concern heading into 2024 regarding his health.

If a "couple of hard days of training" caused him to be sore enough that he felt he needed to use a walking boot, what will a couple of big hits do once they start coming for real when the 2024 season starts?

It's one thing to be "getting older" and to take precautions, but there are plenty of older quarterbacks in the NFL right now who aren't putting on a walking boot to go fishing. Heck, Aaron Rodgers is less than a year removed from snapping his Achilles and he's seemingly moving around just fine.

Prescott has a history of dealing with the injury bug and he'll turn 31 before the season starts. Sure, Rodgers is playing into his 40s and Tom Brady retired at 45 years old, but let's not compare apples and oranges.
Prescott is a decent quarterback, but he's no Brady or Rodgers (two no-doubt Hall of Famers).

Especially heading into a season with so much on the line for the Cowboys, and especially head coach Mike McCarthy and his hot seat, Prescott's walking boot is worrisome — whether he thinks so or not.