Getty Dak Prescott
The throwing-shoulder injury plaguing Dak Prescott is not of the football variety, according to a new report.
Per FOX Sports’ Jay Glazer, the Dallas Cowboys quarterback suffered “more of a baseball injury” originating “under the armpit.” Prescott, though, isn’t in present danger of missing the Sept. 9 regular-season opener at Tampa Bay.
“Let’s get this straight: they fully expect him to be the starter Week 1,” Glazer reported prior to Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game between Dallas and Pittsburgh. “However, the injury is actually a different injury than most football players get. More of a baseball injury. In fact, it’s kind of under the armpit. The Dallas Cowboys training staff have reached out to the Texas Rangers training staff just for a little bit more help from them.
“But they fully expect him to be good for Week 1.”
Glazer’s information runs counter to a team-issued statement released July 28 after Prescott exited the Cowboys’ training camp practice with discomfort in his throwing shoulder. It was initially termed a minor issue.
“After leaving today’s practice early with soreness in his right arm, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott underwent an MRI examination in Oxnard, CA,” the statement read. “The results of that test showed that Prescott has a muscle strain in his right shoulder. He will be treated and further evaluated on a day-to-day basis.”
The Cowboys had planned for Prescott to resume throwing following their first exhibition contest. According to head coach Mike McCarthy, however, that plan recently went awry with the organization deciding to reverse course and slow-walk Dak’s return timeline.
“I think it’s important to just address where he [Prescott] is,” McCarthy told reporters Tuesday. “I think this is something we’ve kind of taken a step back. We still feel the same about the type of injury, but we’re just being more conservative with the timeline. He will not throw today. He will not play in the game Thursday night is the plan.
“After the research and looking at it, we just don’t want this to turn into something big,” McCarthy continued. “He’s doing everything that he possibly can, but we’re just being a little more conservative with his rehab.”
Prescott likely will be re-evaluated ahead of Dallas’ second preseason tilt, Aug. 13 against the Arizona Cardinals. But it would come as a surprise if the $160 million QB did not already handle his last snap of the summer.
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Dak Not Concerned About Week 1 Status
Prescott sat down with FOX Sports at halftime of the Hall of Fame Game from Canton. The two-time Pro Bowl passer reaffirmed during the interview he’s “very confident” in his surgically-repaired right ankle and largely unconcerned with his short-term displacement by the shoulder malady.
“Now it’s just about getting the shoulder (injury) behind me,” Prescott said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “We’re just being cautious. We’re taking it day by day. Obviously it’s five weeks before the season opener, so I’ve got a lot of time.”
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