Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will probably not play in the Saturday’s preseason game against the Houston Texans, coach Mike McCarthy announced on Wednesday.
Prescott is still recovering from a strained latissumus in his right arm.
McCarthy said the Cowboys will remain cautious with Prescott, who initially took himself out of practice on July 28.
He returned on a limited basis on Monday and he was limited in practice again on Wednesday.
“Dak’s status is limited. We’ll just continue the throwing regimen and keep building up the volume,” McCarthy said. “There’s a good chance he probably won’t play.”
With Prescott not playing against the Texans, he won’t play in the preseason finale against Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 29.
It means that Prescott won’t see live action until the Sept. 9 season opener against the Tampa Buccaneers, which means Prescott and the first-team offense won’t take any snaps together until they face Tom Brady and the defending Super Bowl champions.
Prescott has not played in a game since suffering a compound fracture and dislocation in his right ankle last Oct. 11.
That is now how McCarthy planned to open the season.
He was adamant at the start of training camp that he wanted Prescott to get some time with the offense in the preseason to develop some continuity.
Now, he is making the best of the situation and trusting the work they will do in practice, while understanding that criticism will come of the team gets off to a slow start.
“Well, I think you have to point to your practice environment,” McCarthy said. “If the offense started slow and the, quarterback didn’t take any live reps, criticism was applied. That’s all to me part of the process. That’s this business. Doesn’t matter if he played or didn’t play in the preseason. If it doesn’t go well early, criticism is going to come. But at the end of the day, I trust the practice process.
“We do things the right way. The tempo of how we practice, the cadence variations and the emphasis of the game situations, so I feel really good about what we’re able to get done in this environment as opposed to relying on preseason games.”
