The Dallas Cowboys are eager to have a healthy Dak Prescott back for the 2021 season.
Prescott suffered that devastating ankle injury that prematurely ended his season last October.
It required offseason surgery and extensive rehabilitation.
In addition to working his way back from the injury, Prescott’s lingering contract issues were resolved in the offseason.
Full terms on the Dak Prescott contract: 4 years, $160M, up to $164M. He gets a no-trade clause and no tag provision. The guarantee is $126M. Massive.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2021
Prescott opened training camp ready to put the ankle injury behind him and focus on 2021.
Dak Prescott taking the field to start his sixth training camp pic.twitter.com/5LMyotfcXg
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) July 22, 2021
This was short-lived.
Just in: Cowboys QB Dak Prescott strained a muscle in his right shoulder. pic.twitter.com/bJR89wWUcF
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) July 28, 2021
Coach McCarthy does not appear overly concerned.
“I don’t know if you put him in a limited category. He’ll do all the run game stuff, all the footwork stuff, but we’ve just gotta shut him down from throwing for a couple days.”
Though the injury came to light Wednesday, Dak indicated that he started to feel soreness during Tuesday’s practice and wanted to play it safe.
In a statement, Prescott said:
“I felt some soreness when making certain throws today, and I really just decided not to push things too far. Better to be cautious and smart about it. I don’t see this as any kind of serious setback. We’ll treat it on a daily basis, and I’ll be fine.”
Cowboys fans have a right to be concerned about Dak’s shoulder issue, and here is why.
1. Throwing Arm Injury
Anytime the quarterback has an issue with his throwing arm, fans should be concerned.
Will this be a lingering problem?
How much rest will be required?
It was described as a fatigue injury by Coach Mike McCarthy.
His season was shut down last October so he likely has not done significant throwing reps for nine months.
In the first few days of throwing, suffering from fatigue sounds like a cause for concern.
2. Is He Overcompensating For The Ankle
Everyone has been honed in on Prescott’s ankle.
All indications are that the ankle has progressed well.
However, is the ankle really 100%?
Is Dak not going full force on the ankle?
If there is a possibility of that, then perhaps Dak is overcompensating for the ankle not being 100% with his throwing motion.
3. Backup Quarterbacks
Dak Prescott update #Cowboys pic.twitter.com/ulaXL1HhFu
— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) July 29, 2021
Andy Dalton is now in Chicago.
The Cowboys do not have the luxury of having an experienced and accomplished backup.
Backups include Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci, and Cooper Rush.
We saw a little bit from Gilbert and DiNucci following Dalton’s concussion last year.
It was not anything extraordinary.
Collectively, they went 0-2.
Rush did not make an appearance.
If Prescott is out for any significant amount of time, there is not much confidence these three can put the team on their backs and lead them to victory.
Conclusion
Hopefully, Dak is back quickly and misses no significant practice time.
If not, the other reason that Cowboys fans should be concerned is because of his contract.
He gets $126 million guaranteed money, no questions asked.
If the Cowboys really have Super Bowl aspirations and Dak does not bounce back from either the shoulder or ankle issues, the Cowboys will be out a lot of money and with very limited options to fill his shoes.
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