Dallas Cowboys: Dak Prescott won't be rushed back from injury

After suffering a gruesome ankle injury last season, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is now dealing with a shoulder strain. It’s because of those injuries that the Cowboys are taking a conservative approach with Prescott’s eventual return to action, per Around The NFL writer Nick Shook.

Prescott is nearly fully recovered from his ankle injury

Before he went down in his fifth game of the 2020 season, Prescott was on a historic pace. In five games, he completed 68 percent of his passes for 1,856 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions with three more rushing touchdowns. He was on pace for nearly 6,000 yards passing at the time of his ankle injury.

Luckily for the Cowboys, their star quarterback is nearing a full recovery from last season’s injury. Prescott says that he has no lingering issues from the ankle injury.

“No residual effects from the ankle injury,” Prescott said following practice earlier in the week. “I’m not necessarily surprised, because it’s taken a lot of work and time to get here.”

Prescott has consistently produced as the Cowboys’ signal caller. In his five seasons in the league, Prescott has completed two-thirds of his passes for 17,634 yards, 106 touchdowns and 40 interceptions. He also has more than 1,300 rushing yards and 24 scores on the ground.

Why the Cowboys are being cautious with Prescott

Now that Prescott has mostly recovered from his injury from last season, he went down with a separate injury in the early parts of Cowboys preseason camp. He suffered a shoulder strain, which has caused him to miss more time. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy does not want to rush Prescott back into action. The Cowboys’ success in 2021 will partly hinge on Prescott, so they want to make sure he is fully ready to go.

“We’re being a little more conservative with his rehab,” McCarthy said, according to The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “We just want to make sure this doesn’t turn into something bigger.”

Neither the team or Prescott is overly concerned about the shoulder injury. They just want to ensure that he is fully healthy to avoid further injuries in the future. Because of that concern, the Cowboys will be without Prescott in Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game. Prescott is happy that he is able to be around the team again, even if he isn’t on the field.

“It’s just a blessing to be back in the huddles with the guys,” he said. “Just trying to give them everything that I can even when I’m not in there.”

If Prescott can stay healthy, he will be looking to lead Dallas back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2018 season.

Image courtesy of: Tom Pennington via Getty Images.