While a number of critical issues have flooded the Cowboys this offseason and remain to be worked out in the little more than three months (!) before the team begins prepping for Week 1 of the NFL season, there’s one that has been somewhat swept under the rug.
The current major question is the ability of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens to co-exist as dueling alphas in the wide-receiver room. The most important questions remains the need for a new contract for star defensive end Micah Parsons, whose price tag should only be increasing with each passing week. And finally, there is the running game, which has been a question mark in Dallas for the third straight year.
But the one question few have mentioned is the one that will, in the end, determine whether this team has a snowball’s chance in 2025: the health of quarterback Dak Prescott, who missed the last half of last season after suffering a fully torn hamstring tendon.
The expectation is that Prescott will be 100% in September. But more than six months removed from the injury, he’s not 100%, and that will affect him next fall.
Dak Prescott ‘Trying to Stay Healthy’
Prescott participated in team OTAs this week, though he was limited. While the injury certainly tore down his 2024 season, he also was not that great even before he got hurt. That’s a concern, too. What if Prescott just is not the same quarterback in what will be his age 32 season, 10 years into his career?
He has heard that chatter.
“People say a lot of things about me, man,” Prescott said, talking about how he will looks after his hamstring injury. “I just show up and control what I can control. (I’m) healthy, trying to stay healthy. Feels good. Just trying to push the energy and make sure I continue to get better.”
Again healthy is good, and Prescott said in April that he could play if he really needed to. But he’s not 100%. And last year, Prescott threw 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions in eight games, for a 2.8% interception rate, second-worst of his career. His sack percentage, 6.84%, was also second-worst of his career (a function of the Cowboys’ worrying offensive line), as was his completion rate, 64.7%.
His 86.0 quarterback rating was dead last in his career.
Cowboys WR Issue: ‘Have a Conversation’
Prescott did address, again, the Pickens-Lamb issue, which is something that will fall on his lap if the Cowboys struggle. Openness is one key, he said. But winning is the real solution.
Via The Athletic: “Yeah, I think having a conversation with them up front. ‘Hey, there’s going to be some games (where it’s) maybe one or the other. It’s tough, right? That’s the beauty of having you two guys, is I don’t know if it will ever be tough for both of you.’ But in that instance, those are two unselfish guys, and, truly, they want to win.
“When you’re not winning and you’re not getting the ball, trust me, I understand the frustration, so I’m never going to be mad at them for (being frustrated) about wanting to win and wanting the ball. It’s communication. It’s the relationship that we’re building, and we’ll continue to build, whether it’s amongst me and GP or CeeDee.”
