Getty Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
After a week of rest and his participation in consecutive practices, Dak Prescott would appear to be on track to start Sunday night’s road tilt at Minnesota.
But there’s no guarantee the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, still nursing a right calf strain, is under center against the Vikings — and the call is ultimately out of his hands.
“Knowing this is a long journey and a long season, I don’t necessarily know if this is fully my decision, but I’m just going to keep controlling the things I can to get better,” Prescott told reporters Thursday, via ESPN.com. “I’ve gotten better each and every day, and that’s what is most important. I’m just focused on doing that again tomorrow.”
The latest Dallas Cowboys news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Cowboys newsletter here!
Sign up for the Heavy on Cowboys Newsletter!
Dak Hints at Possibility of Sitting on SNF
Although Prescott has attacked his rehab with ferocity, the Cowboys opted to restrict his practice involvement over the past few days, limiting the $160 million signal-caller largely to individual drills while ceding first-string reps in team drills to backup QB Cooper Rush.
Prescott intends to take part in Dallas’ final walk-through Saturday before departing for the Twin Cities, a potential requisite toward clearing the “thresholds” instituted by head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy has yet to specify those thresholds to Prescott, who cracked the door for his impending inactivity, knowing the organization — no different than with his throwing-shoulder injury this summer — could employ a safer-than-sorry approach.
“There is a bigger picture. It is more than just this one game,” Prescott said, per ESPN. “The fact is I don’t want this to linger past this week. Same as I told y’all in training camp about my shoulder: something I want to nip in the bud and make sure I’m healthy and ready to go, so I don’t think about it playing and we’re not having these conversations past today.”
Follow the Heavy on Cowboys Facebook page for the latest breaking news, rumors and content!
Dak Would ‘100%’ Go if Absolutely Necessary
Perhaps he’s willing his way back to the field, but during Thursday’s press conference, Prescott pointed to his obvious familiarity in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore’s system as justification to play without practicing in full. He, too, assured reporters there isn’t a physical movement stemming from the calf issue that would inhibit his ability.
“Obviously I’ve been in this offense for a while. I sat out all of camp and came out the way that I did,” said Prescott, who threw for 403 yards in the season-opener. “I said it today, just watching practice going through my reads, it’s like sometimes you see things better from back there, from watching the game. I know all my reads, I know all the checks and I know what we’re trying to do in this game plan. That will never change whether I’m limited or not.”
The Cowboys’ cautious handling of Prescott could be attributed to timing; there remains 11 games left on the schedule, at a minimum. It’s a long year, and the club may lean toward the long game with the NFL MVP candidate. But in different circumstances — if this week’s affair had playoff implications — No. 4 left no doubt as to his status.
“It’d be no question, 100% no question,” he said, per ESPN.
READ NEXT: Ezekiel Elliott Speaks Out on Cooper Rush Potentially Starting for Cowboys
Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL