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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was asked recently to lend his advice to rookie players grinding through their first season in the NFL.
Prescott’s response — relatably inspiring and passionate — centered around the “small victories” he’s achieved in his recovery from a right ankle compound fracture and dislocation.
“Don’t take anything that you’re doing for granted,” he said on NFL.com’s Pepsi Rookie Roundtable, via the Cowboys’ official website. “No matter how big or how small it is, don’t take it for granted because it’s a blessing. I’ve been able to play every level of my career because the guy in front of me has gotten injured, so I know what it means to be ready and to stay ready in case a guy gets injured in front of you.
“But now to be that guy that’s injured for the first time in my career missing the rest of the season, it’s different. It’s tough. But for me, it’s about making and creating small victories. So each and every day when I wake up and I go in for rehab, it’s about, for me, seeing my leg or seeing my body do something that it didn’t do the day before or creating a feeling that I didn’t have before so I know that I’m continuing to get better.
“And at the end of the day, I know my team needs me. And I know they need me now for support, but they’ll need me again later. So it’s about helping them whichever way that I can and however I can. But it’s about being right mentally and then counting those small victories.”
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Prescott suffered the grisly injury on Oct. 11 and underwent emergency surgery that evening. He was released from the hospital the following day, given an estimated rehabilitation timeline of 4-6 months.
The tail end of that prognosis means Prescott is not yet fully healthy in time for free agency, which begins in March, and would be cutting it close to the offseason workout program, which begins in April.
However, as Dallas VP Stephen Jones conveyed on Nov. 20, the team anticipates a “full recovery” without any post-surgical concerns. Doctors have indicated to the brain trust that Prescott is “ahead of schedule and rolling,” potentially circling the calendar for February.
“I haven’t run into Dak in the last couple of weeks. What I do is get these amazing reports on how he’s doing. It shouldn’t come as any surprise. He does everything to the 9s and the 10s, he just does it the very best. He’s been so diligent in his rehab, and that shouldn’t surprise anybody,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “They said (the team’s medical staff), if anything, he’s ahead of schedule and rolling. We expect him to have a full recovery. He avoided any of the complications that come anytime you have a bone that breaks the skin. You worry about infections and he certainly avoided any of that. We’re just fortunate to have a guy like Dak. It’s been tough not having him out there because his leadership is right at the top with his skill, and what he brings to the table as a quarterback in the NFL.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL