Dak Prescott medically cleared to play, according to Mike McCarthy

Good, somewhat expected news for the Dallas Cowboys: quarterback Dak Prescott has been medically cleared to play according to head coach Mike McCarthy. The star signal caller had been out since fracturing the his right thumb against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1.

NFL Network’s Jane Slater added that the expectation is for Prescott to throw around 40-50 passes in practice on Thursday. The Cowboys play the Detroit Lions on Sunday and the Chicago Bears the following week before hitting the bye week.

In Prescott’s absence, the Cowboys turned to backup quarterback Cooper Rush. Behind some electrifying defensive performances — the Los Angeles Rams got played off the field at times by the Cowboys defensive front — and a decently steady hand from Rush, the Cowboys went 4-1 without Prescott.

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With a potentially top-tier defense and Prescott returning, a season that felt listless for the Cowboys after the first week is now one where they’re in NFC contention. Even with the Philadelphia Eagles in place to potentially run away with the division.

Prescott was expected to make a return to practice this

Rush had been sailing the Dallas Cowboys ship since Week 2, with things going swimmingly heading into Sunday night. Then, the Philadelphia Eagles came calling, crashing the boat back into reality for the organization. Now, the return of Prescott is on the minds of everyone in Dallas.

Head coach Mike McCarthy provided an update on Prescott, saying the “anticipation” is for the quarterback to be cleared on Monday or Tuesday. Once jumping that hurdle, Prescott will be back in practice on Wednesday, preparing for the Detroit Lions.

“The anticipation is for Dak to be cleared today or tomorrow,” McCarthy said. “And then he’ll return to practice on Wednesday.”

Prescott said “yeah, sure, that’s my plan,” when asked if he would return this week when speaking to the media after the Philadelphia loss. Although he was never going to play on Sunday, Prescott still went through pregame exercises and was throwing the ball. Continual progress has been made.

Dallas has gone five games without their franchise quarterback under center, winning four of them. It’s better than anybody associated with the Cowboys could have imagined when the injury occurred during the season opener. Hopefully, Prescott will be able to remain healthy for the remaining parts of the season.