Cowboys fans are primed for a big-time comeback from quarterback Dak Prescott. So is at least one of the major sportsbooks in the betting world.
FanDuel Sportsbook lists the Dallas signal-caller as the leading candidate to take home the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award for 2021, with +200 odds. Prescott was on an early pace to break the league’s season passing yards record in 2020 when he went down in Week 5 with a total dislocation and compound fracture of his right ankle.
A healthy Prescott took part in the Cowboys’ OTAs and minicamp and is expected by the team to be a full participant in training camp next month.
If Prescott does go on to land the honor, he’ll follow in the footsteps of former Washington quarterback Alex Smith, 2020’s winner. Smith underwent an epic rehabilitation of his own tibia and fibula fractures- as well as a life-threatening infection- to return to the field after a two-year absence on October 11.
It was the same day Prescott suffered his injury.
Prescott has acknowledged that having watched Smith’s recovery helped him navigate his own rehab and prepare him both physically and mentally for a return to action.
Smith, who retired in April after 16 seasons as a pro, says he sees in Prescott the qualities necessary to not just come back, but come back better than before.
“Dak is, I think, one of the most unique athletes in the NFL — and I really think that from, like, a freakish perspective,” Smith told Jori Epstein of USA TODAY Sports recently over Zoom. “He is such a strong, powerful, such a good athlete. So I really expect him to come back and be rolling. Then you add that on to his fortitude and mental perspective? I think he’s going to have a huge, huge year.”
The oddsmakers at FanDuel agree. Carolina RB Christian McCaffrey, Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow, and New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley- all coming off injury-plagued seasons- are tied for second-best odds at +700.
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