When the Dallas Cowboys opened training camp last month, coach Mike McCarthy was adamant about Dak Prescott taking snaps in the preseason.
The quarterback missed the last 11 of games of the 2020 season with a fractured ankle and was held out of team drills in OTAs and mini camp.
McCarthy said it was important that Prescott play in the preseason for continuity and familiarity on offense.
He said then that he anticipated Prescott would play in the preseason.
Of course, that was before Prescott suffered a strained right latissimus and took himself out of practice on July 28.
He was shut down completely, only to start resuming light throwing last week.
Prescott returned to practice for the first time on Monday with McCarthy singing a different tune.
“There’s no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play [in the preseason],” McCarthy said. “I think we’d all like that, but that’s not the priority.”
The priority now is having him ready to go for the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 9.
If Prescott doesn’t play against the Houston Texans on Saturday — and it’s looking more and more likely that he won’t — then he will not play in the preseason finale against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 29.
The Cowboys say they are comfortable with either scenario because they are just happy to have Prescott back.
“He is the leader of our team,” left tackle Tyron Smith said. “Everybody on the team looks up to him to how he works and it’s always good to have your leader on the team showing his presence around and getting back into it.”
Said receiver CeeDee Lamb: “It’s always a pleasure having QB1 out there and just him fighting and battling things that he has going shows a lot to us, to the team. He’s a great leader.”
Seeing Prescott at all is a breath of fresh air to Lamb, who is expected to be a breakout star in 2021 after a sensational rookie season in 2020. He caught 75 passes for 935 yards and five touchdowns from four different quarterbacks.
Lamb, picked 17th overall in the 2020 NFL Draft out of Oklahoma, has yet to have a full training camp or full season with the Cowboys franchise quarterback.
The 2020 training camp was shortened by the pandemic.
Prescott played in only five games before getting injured. And then he has missed almost all of camp in 2021 with the shoulder injury.
Has he missed him?
“A lot. He’s definitely done a great job of just being around us in the locker room,” Lamb said. “So he’s there. His presence is there. His leadership is evident. Everything remains the same — it’s just not having him out here. It’s tough.”
Lamb said he can’t wait to play with Prescott again.
But he said the Cowboys offense won’t be set back if he doesn’t play in the preseason.
“It’s the preseason,” Lamb said. “We need him for the regular season. His recovery is going to go as planned, as scheduled and we’ll have him back Week 1.”
Smith was of a similar mindset.
He said if Prescott doesn’t get snaps in the preseason, “we’ll get it at practice as best we can.”
“My thing is, Dak is always going to be Dak and he’s always going to bring that mentality being the type of guy he is,” Smith said.
