Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott left Week 9’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons after suffering a hamstring injury and never returned.
How much time will Prescott miss after Sunday’s injury? Can backup QB Cooper Rush keep the Cowboys on the fringes of NFC playoff contention? And how will Dak’s injury alter Jerry Jones’ thinking at the NFL trade deadline?
Let’s explore all those questions as Dallas plans around Prescott’s injury.
Dak Prescott Injury Update Entering Week 10
Prescott entered the medical tent along the Cowboys’ sideline at the start of the fourth quarter. Dallas subsequently announced that he was questionable to return with a hamstring injury, but Prescott never re-entered Sunday’s game.
Prescott underwent an MRI on his hamstring on Monday, and the news was not positive. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Prescott is expected to miss multiple weeks because of his hamstring problem. In fact, his injury is “not looking like a short-term” issue.
#Cowboys QB Dak Prescott’s hamstring injury was worse than initially feared. He is expected to miss multiple weeks, sources tell me and @TomPelissero.
In fact, this is not looking like a short-term injury. Cooper Rush is the team’s backup. pic.twitter.com/de1R3WSOxy
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 4, 2024
Rapoport added that Prescott will receive a second opinion on his injury. But the NFL Network scribe reiterated that he is expected to be sidelined for multiple weeks, if not longer.
After Sunday’s game, Prescott said he thought he hurt his hamstring on a third-quarter scramble attempt.
“Yeah, we gotta get looked at,” Prescott said. “Felt it on the little scramble to the left. Felt it didn’t think much. Then on the next play, throwing that the stop route to the field, pulled something, I felt something I never felt. It was tough to walk on it at that point.”
“I saw the medical team and asked, ‘Could I make it worse?’ At that point, they said I wouldn’t be able to protect myself and made the call to hold me out.”
Prescott completed 18 of 24 attempts for 133 yards and one touchdown before departing, adding three carries for 30 yards on the ground.
The Cowboys will face the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Washington Commanders, and New York Giants over the next four weeks. Dallas already had its bye in Week 7.
Who Is Cowboys Backup QB Cooper Rush?
Rush didn’t enter Sunday’s game until the fourth quarter, but given that the Cowboys were down by multiple scores, finished Week 9 with more passing attempts (25) than Prescott.
Dallas’ QB2 completed 13 throws for 115 yards, leading a 14-play, 86-yard touchdown drive in the process. Rush helped the Cowboys cut the Falcons’ lead to six points with 1:28 remaining, but Dallas couldn’t recover its onside kick attempt.
Rush went 4-1 after relieving Prescott as the Cowboys’ starter in 2022, putting the ball in the hands of Dallas’ playmakers and letting them get to work. He typically looks composed when asked to enter a game in Prescott’s place and led several comeback victories during his five-game run two years ago.
Pro Football Network ranks Rush as the NFL’s 15th-best backup quarterback.
CeeDee Lamb in Weeks 2-6 of 2022 when Cooper rush filled in for Dak:
– 7 catches, 75 yards
– 8 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD
– 6 catches, 97 yards, 1 TD
– 5 catches, 53 yards
– 5 catches, 68 yards https://t.co/tzztZZX0uj— Field Yates (@FieldYates) November 4, 2024
Dallas also has former No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance on its roster. The Cowboys acquired the North Dakota State product from the San Francisco 49ers in 2023 in exchange for a fourth-round pick.
Lance, 24, has never played a snap for Dallas and has made just four career starts. He saw more 2024 preseason playing time than any other NFL QB (113 passing attempts) but struggled on his reps, tossing two touchdowns against five interceptions. Among the 25 quarterbacks with at least 50 preseason dropbacks this year, Lance ranked 17th in passer rating (67.8).
Rush is expected to replace Prescott moving forward, but Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones “opened the possibility of Trey Lance seeing some opportunity,” per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
How Prescott’s Injury Alters the Cowboys’ Trade Deadline Plans
The Cowboys fell to 3-5 on Sunday and are sitting in third place in the NFC East. With little hope of catching the Washington Commanders or Philadelphia Eagles for the division title, a Wild Card slot is Dallas’ only playoff path. Even then, PFN’s Playoff Predictor gives Mike McCarthy and Co. just a 4.0% chance of earning a postseason berth.
Still, Jerry Jones might not be ready to give up on the season.
“We’re going to do everything we can, at all times, to improve this team, and in our judgment, if what you have to give up helps improve it, we’ll do it,” Jones said. “I know everybody understands. I don’t think I have to say it, but we’ll go for it.”
While Jones said not to expect a high-profile trade like the club’s 2018 Amari Cooper acquisition, he suggested the Cowboys “have some things in the mail” ahead of Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline.
Of course, Jones made those comments after Prescott was injured but before his diagnosis was officially announced.
With Prescott sidelined, Dallas can’t justify trading future draft capital for immediate help. Even if Rush plays as well as he did in 2022, the Cowboys will face the NFL’s ninth-hardest schedule over the rest of the season. The chances of Dallas overtaking the NFC’s myriad Wild Card contenders are slim to non-existent.