FIRST LOOK: QB Dak Prescott - Soft-Tossing - But First Throws of Week for Injured Cowboys QB
FRISCO - It's a tiny move toward positivity for Dak Prescott. But we reported on Wednesday that he likely wasn't going to "throw fully'' until Saturday's Dallas Cowboys walk-through. And we reported on Friday morning that he might "soft-toss here at The Star but still wouldn't truly practice. And now we have the Friday look from the backyard in Frisco. ...
Dak is going to play in Sunday's Week 16 "NFC East Title Game'' at Philadelphia; on Thursday, he agreed with teammates who suggested "you'd have to kill him'' to keep him off the field. But our mid-week report about the QB not fully working out - including throwing with that AC joint shoulder problem - until Saturday morning just before the Dallas Cowboys' charter flight to Philly? It remains in place, despite national reports to the contrary.
"He'll be pretty limited,'' coach Jason Garrett said of Prescott's planned work today. "If he (throws), it won't be much.''
And yes, "limited'' is the right word for a handful of Prescott drills that were about timing and footwork but not at all about putting any velocity or distance on a handful of soft-toss throws he made to teammate Ezekiel Elliott and to staffers.
Never during this week-long process has Prescott's shoulder ailment sidelined his assuredness.
“I’m getting better,'' he said Thursday. "It’s all improving. I’ll be good to go Sunday.''
"Improving'' was a key word, and continues to be. Dallas' Friday practices are usually indoors, in Ford Center. But today at The Star, Garrett hopes to simulate as much as possible the conditions Dallas will face in Philly, where the temperatures will be in the 40's and the field is natural grass. (The Star's backyard field is grass.)
And Prescott is right in the middle of it - but not cutting loose on any throw, maybe not making any real throw at all (backup QB Cooper Rush did all of the Wednesday and Thursday work) ... while still hopefully speeding toward readiness for Sunday.
As of Wednesday, Dak couldn’t even involve his right arm in jumping-jacks after he injured his shoulder early in last week's win over the Rams. He was "limited'' on Thursday but did not throw.
Expect most of the same, in terms of his official status, but the end of today.
A Cowboys win at Philadelphia clinches the NFC East title and a playoff berth. (The outing is important enough that Dak himself calls it "a playoff game.'') What Dak can do in the game is obviously a major storyline, but the MRI on the shoulder was negative and one source termed Prescott's ailment as "soreness.''
“I’m totally convinced he’ll be in top form,” team owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “We need him in top form and he will be in top form.”
