Adam Schefter: Dak Prescott might not return to full health this season

Dak Prescott’s 2020 season was cut short due to a gruesome broken ankle. As he returned to the practice field in Cowboys’ training camp this month, Prescott has also been hindered by a shoulder strain. ESPN’s Adam Schefter said that Prescott isn’t fully healthy, and it might take a while before he is.

‘He’s not fully back’

At halftime of Friday night’s preseason matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals, Schefter commented on Prescott’s status. He said that Prescott is still working his way back and that it is going to be a long process.

“He’s not fully back,” Schefter said via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. “He may not be back all season long.”

The comment on Prescott is certainly concerning for those following the Cowboys. As Prescott continues to work back to full healthy, he now has two lingering issues instead of one. It is possible that Prescott’s shoulder injury was caused by a reluctance to put pressure on his ankle.

“Prescott’s throwing motion looks different,” Florio said. “Possibly because he’s overcompensating with his arm for aback foot that he’s reluctant to plant (consciously or not) as aggressively as he did before suffering the broken ankle.

“That’s the challenge, on that could last for all of the 2021 season – and one that could impact not only his availability but also his performance. Compensating for the ankle, compensating for the shoulder. Struggling to not think about traffic around the leg. Trusting the ankle when deciding in a nanosecond whether to tuck the ball and run. Trusting the arm to make aggressive throws that could re-strain a shoulder injury that is, essentially, a baseball pitching injury.”

Historic pace before injury

In five games, including the one where he was injured, Prescott threw for 1,856 yards and had 12 total touchdowns. After he went down, the Cowboys and their questionable depth behind Prescott was tested.

Andy Dalton played in 11 games, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 2,169 yards, 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Now, Dalton is with the Chicago Bears, leaving Garrett Gilbert, Cooper Rush and Ben DiNucci as the top backups to Prescott. Gilbert threw for 243 yards, one touchdown and one interception in his lone game last season. DiNucci threw for 219 yards with no touchdowns. Rush has thrown three passes in his three years with the Cowboys.

With the Cowboys’ offensive line returning to near full health, expectations are rising in Dallas this season. Having Prescott at full health should be the Cowboys’ number one priority. As we saw last year, the Cowboys are a significantly worse team without Prescott on the field.