The Dallas Cowboys season could not have started off worse. Not only did the offense already look terrible with Dak Prescott under center, but late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys QB left the game with an apparent thumb injury. How long is Prescott out? What exactly is his injury, and what is the most recent update?
How long is Dak Prescott out? Injury update and timeline
Update 09/15/22: According to owner Jerry Jones, Prescott had successful thumb surgery. Additionally, the team decided not to put the two-time Pro Bowler on the IR. This means that there is a chance that he could return within the next four weeks.
The Cowboys started their Sunday Night Football matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decently enough. They drove down the field and scored a field goal on their first possession. The run game was working and Dak hit CeeDee Lamb for a nice gain. Then, everything started to fall apart.
Connor McGovern, the Cowboys left guard, was injured and had to leave the game. As soon as that happened, the Buccaneers’ defensive line could seemingly do whatever they want.
Dallas’ lack of depth at the WR position started to show, and the team failed to score another point. Then, late in the fourth quarter, Prescott’s hand collided with the hand of Shaq Barrett. On the next play, it was clear that Prescott wasn’t able to throw the football properly.
He immediately went to the sideline where he was escorted to the locker room. After the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones informed the media that Prescott would require surgery.
“He has an injury above his joint in his thumb, up here, that’ll need surgery. … Dak will be out for a little while,” Jones told reporters. “Of course when you add to it, right there at the end, to lose him for several weeks. We’ll see more about how many weeks that may be.”
When will Dak Prescott return?
ESPN’s Todd Archer was the first to report this morning that the expectation is that Prescott will likely miss between six to eight weeks. Archer said that Prescott will meet with the hand specialist today, Monday, Sept. 12, to learn more. He also reported that sources believe Prescott will need to have a pin and plate inserted to stabilize the joint above his thumb.
This timeline can change depending on how the surgery goes today, and we’ll likely learn more as Prescott meets with his team and doctors. If the originally reported timeline is to be believed, that means Prescott will be out of commission until after the team’s bye week. In a best-case scenario situation, Prescott could return for the team’s Week 10 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
In addition to Archer’s report, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport added that Prescott’s thumb could be repaired “relatively quickly,” and that he would be out more than a month, and “probably even more than that.” This gives even more credence to the 6-8 week timeline.
Cooper Rush took over as the starter when Prescott was injured. It looks like the team will need to move forward with Rush until Prescott is healthy again, with Will Grier serving as his backup. With that said, there are some interesting names left on the remaining free agents’ list, most notably Cam Newton.
At the end of the day, it’s a disappointing start to the season for both Prescott and the Cowboys. After coming back from a horrific ankle injury just a few years ago, Prescott had talked about being in the best shape of his career this season. The disappointment was pretty evident when Prescott spoke to the media after the game.
“Obviously going to miss some time and not be there for my team, and that’s what hurts more than anything, especially after the start that we just put out there,” Prescott said.
“Wanted to be able to respond and not necessarily having that opportunity for several weeks, yeah, it’s unfortunate. But I’ll do what I’ve always done any time adversity comes, take it on headfirst, and I’ll give my best and I’m sure I’ll come out of this thing better.”