Getty Dak Prescott
Far from ideal is the strained right (throwing) shoulder Dak Prescott suffered at the start of training camp. No debate.
The Dallas Cowboys franchise quarterback left practice July 28 and has yet to resume throwing, roughly five weeks before the regular-season opener at Tampa Bay. Not great.
But unlike last year, upon compound-fracturing and dislocating his ankle, the luxury of time is on Prescott’s side, extinguishing fears he won’t be under center Sept. 9 to battle Tom Brady and the world champion Buccaneers.
“Yeah, I doubt it. I doubt it,” Prescott recently said when asked if he’d miss a “real” game, via the official team website. “I know we’re early. It’s early in training camp. I’m obviously trying to get to the season and get to the season healthy. That was the main reason .. I doubt in a game that (an absence) happens.”
He continued: “I think I’d do whatever is necessary and take the steps that are needed that I was ready for Sunday or Monday or whenever the game would be. I knew I would get myself there one way or another and be able to perform the way that I would want to.”
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Sign up for the Heavy on Cowboys Newsletter!‘Step Back’ in Recovery
The Cowboys tentatively planned for Prescott to resume throwing prior to the club’s first preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That plan went awry, per head coach Mike McCarthy, who pivoted to a safer-than-sorry approach with the $160 million cornerstone.
“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 [vs. Steelers ] is the plan.”
Prescott, obviously, was ruled out for the exhibition-debuting Hall of Fame Game, slated to kick off Thursday night from Canton, Ohio. Garrett Gilbert will assume first-string duties in Dak’s stead; his backups are Cooper Rush and Ben DiNucci, both of whom will receive extensive action versus Pittsburgh.
“After the research and looking at it, we just don’t want this to turn into something big,” McCarthy said of Prescott’s injury. “He’s doing everything that he possibly can, but we’re just being a little more conservative with his rehab.”
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Ex-NFL Doc Updates Dak’s Long-Term Status
Dr. David Chao, former head doctor for the then-San Diego Chargers, does not feel as if the Cowboys should be overly concerned about Prescott’s Week 1 availability — nor his availability at any point beyond this summer.
“Prescott’s shoulder is no longer just day-to-day, as we expected, but he should be back well before Week 1,” Chao wrote Wednesday for Outkick.com. “His fractured and dislocated ankle is still not 100% yet but is serviceable. He should be able to play well when the regular season starts.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL