Getty Cowboys QB Dak Prescott
One month removed from straining his throwing shoulder, Dak Prescott is “good to go” for the 2021 regular season.
Dallas Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones confirmed Sunday that Prescott will start the team’s Sept. 9 season-opener against the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“He turned it loose and was none the worse for it,” Jones said prior to Dallas’ preseason finale versus Jacksonville, per ESPN’s Ed Werder. “The MRIs are showing all systems go. He’s throwing with velocity (and) emphasis. Throwing on the run.’’
Prescott injured his lat muscle on July 28 and was subsequently barred from practicing until the Cowboys settled on a treatment plan. That plan, formed in consultation with the MLB’s Texas Rangers, called for the $160 million cornerstone to sit the entire exhibition period and gradually ramp up his throwing.
Prescott followed these marching orders and, after additional testing, reintegrated into the team portion of practice. This week, although Cooper Rush assumed first-string duties for the Jaguars game, Prescott was captured lobbing deep shots and firing frozen ropes into the end zone.
On Monday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy explained why the organization carries little concern over Prescott’s Week 1 status.
“If you watched the throws on Saturday night, he’s making all the throws, the timing throws and so forth,” McCarthy said, via the official team website. “…I just think when he’s able to cut it loose and we’re not worried about the velocity of throws or the distance of the throws and all that, that’s what we’re building up to. When we get to the level that Dak and (associate athletic trainer/director of rehabilitation) Britt (Brown) and the training staff feels like it’s time to go, we’ll go.”
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Lost in the fray of Dak’s shoulder ailment is it being compounded by his return from a ghastly fracture and dislocation of his ankle, sustained last October. While there isn’t yet much 2021 film to judge, some prognosticators — including fellow quarterbacks — believe Prescott may overcompensate for both injuries this season.
“[Chris] Simms has said on PFT Live that he has noticed a difference in Dak’s throwing motion,” Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio wrote Sunday. “That could be a result, consciously or not, of Prescott protecting his broken ankle from 2020. The right leg becomes the base from which Prescott generates his throwing power; he’s possibly trying to muster more from his upper body than from his lower body.”
During halftime of Dallas’ second preseason contest, ESPN’s Adam Schefter first brought this worry to light, speculating that Prescott is not (and perhaps will not be) 100 percent healthy.
“He’s not fully back, he may not be back all season long,” Schefter explained, via Pro Football Talk.
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Jerry Confirms Hooker Makes Cut
Speaking before Sunday’s game, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones revealed that recently-signed safety Malik Hooker will make the 53-man roster when it’s finalized on Tuesday.
“There’s no question he’ll make our team. Period. He’s going to make the team and make the roster,” Jones said, via the Dallas Morning News.
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