Dak Prescott Injury Update: Cowboys QB having another MRI

Orlando Scandrick might be a bit of a curmudgeon, but he’s spot on with his assessment of Dak Prescott’s second MRI after a shoulder injury. There are multiple reasons why the Dallas Cowboys announced the MRI. Just a few short months ago, a second ankle surgery set Cowboys Nation ablaze. It turned out the surgery was planned and that the initial one was in immediate reaction to the injury. The Cowboys attempted to keep everyone from freaking out, but that backfired.

Cowboys’ Twitter account spurs panic about Dak Prescott

It's not a setback. 
And it's not a reason to worry.  
But QB Dak Prescott is planning on getting another MRI.

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys)

Man, the network stations went wild with speculation on this one. It’s fair to be slightly concerned whenever “quarterback” and “shoulder soreness” appear in the same sentence. It’s also fair to be skeptical of the news we receive from teams on injuries.

However, this is something that Prescott himself said he would have played through had it been the regular season. After his injury, the rigorous rehab stint he went through that resulted in one slight setback from over-exertion has forced the Cowboys to take a more aggressive approach to their franchise QB.

They need to shut him down because he’ll work himself down to the bone otherwise.

Cowboys being overly cautious with their star QB

It was clear as day during the opening episode of Hard Knocks — Prescott is incredibly intense in a practice setting. His calm, near robotic nature during press conferences make way to an aggressive workman-like attitude.

On Day 1 of camp, his GPS tracker told the story. He’d worked harder than the coaching staff felt comfortable with. Prescott’s shoulder strain could be linked back to that first practice. When they shelved him the next practice, Prescott didn’t take kindly to it. He wants to work.

Dallas has an MRI and CT machine right in their practice complex, thanks to Blue Star Imaging. When making decisions on a $160 million quarterback, caution is probably written on a separate sheet of paper above the actual list.

Prescott heads into Year 6 of his NFL career. He has nearly 2,300 career pass attempts in his five seasons. The 28-year-old doesn’t need the preseason reps, even if he only played five games last season.

Jerry Jones feels the same way.

 “I mean Dak Prescott knows how to play the game of football and whether he plays a series or two in Houston isn’t going to affect how he’s going to play in the opener against Tampa.”

He is already back throwing

For some reason, big media under-reported this. Prescott has been throwing for days now. He told the media he’s progressing well, and in the past few days of practice, has been ramping up his workload.

At the end of the day, the Cowboys need to save him from himself. His work ethic creeps into his mind, telling him to “go go go.”

The other big factor in whether he’ll take snaps in the preseason depends on who else is starting for the team offensively. Prescott won’t play if Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, or La’el Collins aren’t out there.

He should be back to nearly normal by the time practice commences next week in Frisco, Texas. Hopefully, everyone can take a moment, breath, and get ready to see him face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 9.