After he underwent successful surgery on his injured thumb yesterday, attention surrounding Dak Prescott will now turn towards his recovery timeline. The Cowboys are optimistic that their franchise quarterback’s absence will be shorter than initially expected. 
Team owner Jerry Jones said this morning that the team will not be placing Prescott on IR (Twitter link via Jon Machota of The Athletic). Doing so was the expectation after the news of his injury broke, and would have guaranteed that Prescott missed the Cowboys’ next four games. Instead, this move leaves open the possibility that he could return in less than one month.
The recovery timetable was initially reported to be six to eight weeks. However, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero tweets that Prescott’s window to return could actually be four to six weeks, making the team’s decision a more understandable one. Dallas will play the Bengals in Week 2, followed by divisional games against the Giants and Commanders. A three-week absence through that stretch could set up Prescott for a return in Week 5 against the Rams. Prescott not going to IR will allow him to practice, when that time comes.
Perhaps more realistically, another key NFC East contest in Philadelphia the following week could be the time at which the two-time Pro Bowler is back on the field. In any event, the fact that the Cowboys are optimistic Prescott will be available for multiple games before their bye week is a significant and encouraging update for their offense. In the absence of Amari Cooper and Tyron Smith in particular, expectations were raised for Prescott to carry the unit which led the league in scoring last year.
Given the team’s positive outlook, it comes as little surprise that Jones also confirmed (via Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, on Twitter) the Cowboys will not be pursuing a veteran backup. Cooper Rush will fill in for Prescott for the time being, leaving Will Grier as the No. 2. Should Prescott be able to return in just a few weeks, their performances will be less impactful on Dallas’ season than it originally seemed.
They could really be 0-4 or 1-3 after 4 games. If they are without him for 5-6 weeks they have to run the table to even make the playoffs, and any longer the season’s done. This is all on Jerry for not obtaining a viable backup. All upcoming opponents have defensive coordinators stacking 8 in the box right now.
Jerry should have taken some of that “price gouging people during a deadly ice storm” money and gotten a better backup QB, it’s true.
Yeah, you can rush this guy back all you want but how much will it help honestly? Do we forget how bad this team looked against Tampa when he was healthy?
That’s the way I look at it, too. Offensively, it’s not a good football team; and Dak is only going to be able to do so much to hide that. People can debate Dak’s talent level -and it’s fair- but with a shaky O-line and thin WR group, most any QB will only be able to do but so much.
The biggest problem in Dallas though is they lack competent leadership from the owner, his son and the coaching staff.
Definitely wise to judge the team’s hopes by not even one whole game against what could be easily the best team in their weak conference.
Time to lay down? The league is so tight, competition wise that surrendering games whether its 3 or 6 is far to costly. By the time all these key losses from the off season, pre season and week one are back in place a playoff run won’t be an issue.
So tight competition wise but then you don’t think a playoff run will be an issue? So which is it?
You can glue his thumb back on but, at the end of the day, he’s still Dak Prescott. He looked horrible vs TB as he continues to hold the ball too long & misreads coverage. His O-line looked like they’ve never played together. I’ve been supporting this team for decades & still will, but let’s keep it real. Dak is not worth $35Mil/yr and Jerry has done a poor job of being the GM.
Another shrewd move by Dr. Jerrah. I could easily see him winning executive of the year….
We saw last year what happens when QBs with throwing hand finger injuries come back too soon, i.e., they stink, thus Dallas should just eat the four+ IR games and restart the season in week 7.
Wow this is great news for Dallas
About time rush is given the reigns . When Dak is healthy and Cowboys are in first he can sit on sidelines like romo had too