Mike McCarthy encouraged by Dak Prescott pregame workout

Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott appears to be making progress in his recovery from a latissimus strain in his right shoulder. Prior to the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Houston Texans, Prescott got some pregame work in on the field. Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy was encouraged by how Prescott looked.

Prescott threw 52 passes in his pregame workout

The Cowboys had a goal in mind for Prescott in his pregame routine, and that was 46 passes according to McCarthy. Of his 52 pass attempts, Prescott completed 51 of them. His lone incompletion came on an overthrow on a pass targeted for Ezekiel Elliott down the field. McCarthy jokingly blamed Elliott for the lone incompletion.

“I think Zeke didn’t set the angle high enough,” McCarthy joked.

As Prescott continues to work his way back to full health, continuing to increase his volume of throws will be important. The Cowboys don’t want Prescott to overdo it, but their recovering quarterback being able to get that type of work in before the game was an encouraging sign.

“I guess he went too many. He was supposed to throw 46, he threw 51?” McCarthy joked. He hit the target for number of throws. I got a chance to watch it, I thought he looked good and the most important thing is how he feels afterwards. I thought he had another good day and the opportunity to go back-to-back is important. He’s still building up on the volume of throws.”

Prescott’s recovery will be the most important factor of the Cowboys season

Prescott was well on his way to one of the best statistical seasons in NFL history before his ankle injury last season. The Cowboys were 2-3 in the five games Prescott played in last year. Dallas finished the season at 6-10, missing out on the playoffs.

Andy Dalton got the majority of the snaps for the Cowboys at quarterback after Prescott went down. Now, Dalton is in Chicago, leaving Garrett Gilbert, Cooper Rush, and Ben DiNucci as the other quarterbacks on the roster. The Cowboys are a significantly different team without Prescott on the field.

As things currently stand, Prescott would be on the field if the Cowboys started the regular season right now, according to owner Jerry Jones. There have been conflicting reports on Prescott’s recovery over recent days, but all indications are pointing towards him being ready to play in the regular season. His ability to stay on the field throughout the season will be an interesting situation to follow.