The Dallas Cowboys 2020 season took a turn for the worse in October. Quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a compound fracture and ankle dislocation that put him on the shelf for the season, and essentially ended any hopes for the Cowboys making a run at a sixth Super Bowl title.
After losing in the final minute in Week 17 to the New York Giants, Cowboys Head Coach Mike McCarthy spoke to the media on Monday about Prescott’s progress in his recovery, and it was a positive update.
“I’m definitely looking forward to working with Dak full time,” McCarthy said, via the team’s website. “He’s here every day going through rehab. He’s making progress, and just as you’d expect, he’s going after it full speed.
“As far as the timeline, I don’t have the specifics on when he’s going to be doing on-the-field work and dates and things like that. I don’t have that for you. But I do know based on the plan for his surgery and what he’s supposed to be doing and where he is, everything is right on course.”
Prescott came into this season coming off of a career year with 4,902 yards and 30 touchdowns while completing 65% of his passes in 2019. He was on an even bigger tear in 2020 as he threw for 1,856 yards in just five games (371.2 yards per game) which included him becoming the first quarterback in NFL history with three consecutive games with at least 450 yards passing.
The biggest issue to resolve this offseason in Dallas is a long-term deal for Prescott. He played on a franchise tag that paid him $31.4 million in 2020 and that number will balloon to around $37.7 million if a second tag gets applied this offseason.
Cowboys Owner Jerry Jones made an appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday to talk about his franchise quarterback. The man that cuts the check acknowledged that Prescott has a lot of leverage in future contract negotiations.
“I don’t know how you could have any more leverage,” Jones said. “His evolving into an NFL quarterback has been nothing short of a perfect picture. He has great ability in my mind to win games. He’s talented. He certainly has experience. And so he has all the things, as substantiated by what we’ve offered Dak. You wouldn’t be offering Dak what’s been offered him in the past had you not thought he was very special.
“The issue is how do you come together, and that’s no stranger to me. I’ve been doing it all my life. I got here putting things together. And we’ve got to put it together.”
The effect of losing Prescott was huge for the Cowboy’s offense. They averaged 32.6 points per game with him under center in the first five games. However, that dwindled to 21.1 points per game with Andy Dalton, Garrett Gilbert, and Ben DiNucci taking snaps, and the team went 4-7 over that span.
The Cowboys and Prescott will meet for the third consecutive offseason and try to hash out a lucrative long-term deal. Both sides have never wavered in wanting to make that happen, with the only issue left to resolve is the five-year commitment the organization wants versus the four-year marriage Prescott is seeking. It will inevitably get done, the only question now is when.
