The Cowboys quarterback is dealing with a shoulder sprain that suddenly calls his status for the team’s season finale into doubt.
If Santa Claus had some magic healing balm in his bag for Dak Prescott’s right shoulder, the Cowboys quarterback apparently didn’t open it on Christmas morning. Prescott was a non-participant in Wednesday’s practice session for the first time in his career and then again on Thursday as he continues to nurse a sore throwing shoulder.
Head coach Jason Garrett was not able to definitively say the four-year veteran would be ready to play on Sunday. The team’s slim remaining hope of making the postseason depends on winning the regular season finale versus Washington, and Prescott’s absence would deal a massive blow to those chances.
“Last week we really took it day by day, and this week we’ll do the same thing,” Garrett said, per the team’s official website. “Obviously, he was able to play in the ball game, so hopefully we can get him on the same path where he’s able to go on Sunday.”
Prescott sprained the AC joint in his shoulder just a few plays into the Week 15 win over the Los Angeles Rams. While he went on to throw a pair of touchdowns and amass a 123.8 passer rating (his second-highest of the 2019 campaign), the air attack was noticeably subdued in the game, with Prescott attempting just 23 passes overall, his lowest of the season.
Prescott also has an issue with the index finger on his throwing hand; it was reported during the Rams game that he had suffered a hairline fracture during the team’s Week 14 loss to Chicago.
The team took a protective approach in the week that preceded the Week 16 Eagles matchup, with Prescott being listed as “limited” in three of the week’s practices, the first time in his career that the Mississippi State product had not been a full participant in a team work session.
In the win-and-in contest that followed, Prescott was clearly not his usual self against Philadelphia. He was 25-of-44 for 265 yards on the day, averaging six yards per attempt, his worst per-throw average in over a year. He missed on six of his eleven throws to wideout Michael Gallup and eight of his 12 attempts to top option Amari Cooper in the team’s 17-9 loss.
Was the shoulder injury to blame?
“Not at all. Not at all,” Prescott said after the game. “I missed some throws. I mean, I can’t say I had pain or felt it in my shoulder. It could be maybe a lack of reps this week, who knows?”
Reports have since surfaced that Prescott had perhaps taken an injection or two to get through the Eagles game, but Prescott was cagey in his response to inquiries.
In a media conference call on Wednesday, Garrett lowered expectations for his starting quarterback before the Christmas Day practice session.
“We don’t anticipate him being able to practice very much today,” Garrett said, via NFL.com. “He’ll be out there. He was out there for the walk-through and was able to go through the walk-through today. But we don’t anticipate him practicing fully today. He’ll be limited at best.”
When the practice report came out prior to the later-than-normal session, though, Prescott was listed as “DNP.”
Wednesday’s “did-not-practice” status marked the first time Prescott had ever been listed as a non-participant, and suddenly calls into question whether he’ll be able to take the field at all in Week 17.
Garrett, however, wasn’t interesting in answering that question from reporters.
“Guys, to be honest with you, no disrespect, but I don’t want to get into all that right now,” the embattled coach said. “We talked about the Philly game on Monday, and now we’re on to getting ourselves ready for the Washington game. I understand that Dak’s a big story, and I understand why you’re asking the question. But we’ll take them day by day, and hopefully he’ll be ready to practice at some point this week and ready to play on Sunday.”
Thursday brought more of the same in regard to Prescott’s status.
Prescott did apparently participate in the walk-through on Thursday, as he did on Wednesday. He was not able to say the same last week prior to the Philadelphia game.
If Prescott cannot suit up on Sunday, the team would conceivably turn to backup Cooper Rush to make his first NFL start. The Central Michigan alum is 1-of-3 for 2 passing yards over three late-4th-quarter appearances in his third year in the league. Rush reportedly led the first team in practice.
A Philadelphia win over the Giants would secure their divisional crown and render the Cowboys-Redskins game meaningless. The Dallas coaching staff would likely hold Prescott out under those circumstances, but the two games will be played simultaneously. The only way the Cowboys receive a playoff berth is with a win over Washington and an Eagles loss versus New York.
