FRISCO, Texas � Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott confirmed in an interview with sports journalist Graham Bensinger that the cause of death for his brother, Jace, was suicide.
Jace Prescott, the middle brother of Tad and Dak, died on April 24 in Orange, Texas at the age of 31. The sudden death remains listed as an active investigation by the Pinehurst Police Department.
In an interview for an upcoming episode of In Depth with Graham Bensinger, Dak and his oldest brother Tad detail how they found out about Jace's death.
Dak Prescott said his father, Nathaniel, called to inform him.
"I mean, obviously tears and tears and tears," Dak Prescott told Bensinger. "I mean, I sat there and tried to gather what had happened, and wanted to ask why for so many reasons ... and as much as you want to ask why as much as this, I mean, I know my brother, and as we said, he had a lot of burdens on him."
Tad Prescott said he first thought his brother's death was accidental: "I woke up to a phone in my face with a message from Jenna (fiancee) and ... I'm reading this message and I don't believe it."
During the interview, which is scheduled to air this weekend, Dak Prescott talked about how Jace was the main caregiver to his mother Peggy during her battle with colon cancer before she died in 2013. Dak Prescott also revealed that he went through a state of depression in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
"All throughout this quarantine and this offseason, I started experiencing emotions I've never felt before," Prescott said.
"Anxiety for the main one. And then, honestly, a couple of days before my brother passed, I would say I started experiencing depression. And to the point of, I didn't want to work out anymore. I didn't know necessarily what I was going through, to say the least, and hadn't been sleeping at all."
Prescott has endured a difficult offseason, including the loss of his brother, Jace, a man who got him to play quarterback when he was young. He also had to fight back from criticism of having a small birthday party for his girlfriend at his Prosper home during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, and he didn't finalize the long-term contract with the Cowboys that he's been seeking.
"He meant a lot to my family," Prescott said of his brother during training camp. "Meant a lot to me. Part of (the) reason I am a quarterback. When I was a little kid, he was the reason I first started throwing the football. It has been a tough year. Been a tough year for me personally. Been a tough year for my family. Been a tough year for this country and this world. It has all been tough."
