INDIANAPOLIS — Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy met with reporters on the first day of the NFL Scouting Combine Tuesday. Along with revealing a surprise shoulder surgery for quarterback Dak Prescott, McCarthy expressed frustration at the impression that Sean Payton is Dallas’ coach-in-waiting.
Dak Prescott’s shoulder surgery was the big Cowboys news from Mike McCarthy’s NFL Combine press conference
First, the biggest news: Prescott had “clean-up” surgery after the 2021 season on his non-throwing shoulder. The injury bothered Prescott at least toward the end of the season, although not enough to keep him out of action.
While McCarthy wouldn’t discuss the exact nature of the injury or the procedure Prescott needed to fix it, the Cowboys coach did say that Dallas’ QB1 should be ready for the start of the offseason conditioning program next month.
“It’s not a concern,” McCarthy said. “We have no concern. He’s doing well.”
Prescott set career-highs in completion rate (68.8%) and touchdowns (37) in 2021 but wasn’t good in Dallas’ first-round playoff loss to the 49ers.
McCarthy addressed the Sean Payton chatter
That loss to San Francisco also raised questions about McCarthy’s future with the Cowboys. Those doubts only grew when Payton – long an object of Jerry Jones’ affection – retired/stepped away/took a sabbatical after a long and successful career in New Orleans.
Jones didn’t exactly douse those flames, saying during a radio appearance that McCarthy “knows that someday somebody other than him will be the coach of the Cowboys.”
McCarthy told reporters Tuesday that he addressed that cloud hanging over his employment with Jones.
“It’s a narrative I don’t want to be a part of,” McCarthy said. “We laughed about it and moved on. … I don’t see it as any type of topic that gets in the way of winning.”
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