Dak Prescott is headed to injured reserve, while his timetable for return from a hamstring injury he suffered on Sunday remains unclear.
While the move hasn’t been officially made yet, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said during an interview with team affiliate 105.3 The Fan that the team will have to do it. He also said the team did not know if Prescott would be able to play again this season:
“I think there’s probably no way he can be back within the four-week period. We put him there and we have that roster spot that we can use for the next four weeks and go from there.”
“It’s obviously a tough, tough situation to lose him for that period of time, but we’re going to do what’s in the best interests of Dak and at this point I don’t think anyone knows whether it’s going to be four weeks, six weeks or longer to last.” We just have to keep monitoring that and see where it takes us.”
Prescott suffered an injury last week against the Atlanta Falcons and his status has been up in the air ever since. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones admitted Wednesday that an IR stint was likely, but the most troubling news came Thursday when it was reported that Prescott’s injury could require season-ending surgery.
ESPN’s Todd Archer reports that Prescott is facing a six-to-eight week timeline for a partial avulsion of his right hamstring, although no decision has been made on the surgery yet.
With Prescott out for the foreseeable future, all eyes will be on Cooper Rush as the career backup takes over at center for Dallas. After taking over for Prescott in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Rush went 13 of 25 for 115 passing yards and a touchdown. He has a career record of 5-1 as a starter.
Jones expressed confidence that Rush could help the team without Prescott:
“I thought Cooper did a great job against Atlanta the other day. He’s obviously stepped up and won a lot of games for us in the past, so we feel good about what Cooper can do.”
Prescott’s absence comes at a particularly bad time for the 3-5 Cowboys, who have had no shortage of injuries this season. The team has division matches scheduled in three of its next four games, and could be all but eliminated from the playoffs by the end of that stretch if things go poorly.
