Dak Prescott piling up small victories in rehab, knows Cowboys ‘need him’
FORT WORTH, Texas — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott still has a long road ahead in his rehab and recovery from compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle suffered on Oct. 11 against the New York Giants.
Cowboys vice president Stephen Jones has said that Prescott is ahead of schedule but that’s a relative term, considering that his prognosis is four to six months. He still has long way to go.
Prescott offered his own take on his situation during the NFL Media’s Pepsi Rookie Roundtable.
First, in true Prescott fashion, he offered advice on how to be ready and take advantage of opportunities as he did as a rookie in 2016 when he was thrust into to starting role because of injuries to Tony Romo and Kellen Moore and never looked back.
“Don’t take anything that you’re doing for granted,” Prescott said. “No matter how big or how small it is, don’t take it for granted because it’s a blessing. I’ve been able to play every level of my career because the guy in front of me has gotten injured, so I know what it means to be ready and to stay ready in case a guy gets injured in front of you.”
Prescott then brought the conversation to his present circumstances and talked about how he was dealing with rehab and the struggles of not being on the field with his team.
Prescott, whose tumultuous year has included the death his brother and admittedly battling depression last spring before suffering the seasoninjury, explained what gets him through each day.
“But now to be that guy that’s injured for the first time in my career, missing the rest of the season, it’s different,” Prescott said. “It’s tough. But for me, it’s about making and creating small victories. So each and every day when I wake up and I go in for rehab, it’s about, for me, seeing my leg or seeing my body do something that it didn’t do the day before or creating a feeling that I didn’t have before so I know that I’m continuing to get better.”
Prescott, who had not missed a start since his rookie season, played just five games with the Cowboys in 2020.
He was leading the league in passing yards with 1,856 when his season ended and had set an NFL record with three straight games of over 450 yards passing.
The Cowboys (3-8) have gone 1-5 without him.
Prescott, who played in 2020 on the franchise tag, will be a free agent in March.
The Cowboys have said Prescott remains their quarterback of the future. And he didn’t sound like someone who plans on going anywhere.
“And at the end of the day, I know my team needs me,” Prescott said. “And I know they need me now for support, but they’ll need me again later. So it’s about helping them whichever way that I can and however I can. But it’s about being right mentally and then counting those small victories.”