Dak Prescott "pretty much a full go" as OTAs begin – what does it mean for Dallas?
The Dak is back and ready to attack.
As cringy as that Dak Prescott rhyming scheme might be, it's true: Dak is back.
"I'm pretty much a full go," Prescott said Tuesday at Cowboys OTAs. "I'm not being limited or restricted to doing anything. I'm ready to go. I don't know as far as being tackled or my ankle being jerked and stuff under a pile. Obviously, we're not there yet. But we're far from being there.
"I'm good to go, really."
Those are big words from Prescott, considering that his ankle essentially broke in half on Oct. 11 against the New York Giants in Week 5 of the 2020 NFL season.
Now, Prescott is saying he's closing in on a clean bill of health.
By all (video) indications, he looks to be telling the truth.
It's quite remarkable to see that less than eight months after Prescott's gruesome injury, one that devastated the Cowboys and the NFL as a whole.
Now that Prescott has returned to the field, however, it seems safe to begin the conversation about what he means for the Cowboys this season.
For what it's worth, Prescott was expected to make a full recovery from the compound fracture and dislocated ankle that he suffered last season, as FOX Sports' athlete injury and performance analyst Dr. Matt Provencher outlined in March.
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Hear why Dr. Matt Provencher doesn't think Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott's return from a gruesome leg injury should see any major hurdles.
With Prescott back on the field at Cowboys OTAs, "Good Morning Football" discussed whether a healthy Prescott makes Dallas a contender in 2021 and beyond.
NFL Network analyst Peter Schrager said that while Prescott was on fire before the injury last season, Dallas still has to prove its mettle on defense after finishing in the bottom 10 in total yards allowed (386.4) and points allowed per game last season (29.6).
"They're gonna be Super Bowl picks from quite a few media pundits. They're gonna look at Dak and say, ‘It's year two of CeeDee Lamb, it's year two of Mike McCarthy, this offense lit it up when Dak was on the field.' But gosh, we always forget that football is a three-phased game. It's not just offense – it's defense and special teams as well, and the latter two were atrocious for the Cowboys last year."
One thing that is especially true of Schrager's position is that Dak and the Cowboys' offense did light it up through the first four weeks of last season.
In Weeks 1 through 4, Prescott tallied a ridiculous 1,690 total passing yards, which averages out to 422.5 per game. It's a huge hypothetical, but if Prescott had somehow kept up that torrid pace, he was scheduled to throw for 6,760 yards last season.
For context, the NFL record for passing yards in a season is 5,477, which Hall of Famer Peyton Manning accomplished in 2013 with the Denver Broncos.
Dallas was also putting up 31.5 points per game the first four weeks, a number negated by the fact that the team was 1-3 after the defense gave up 36.5 points per game through the first month of games.
Regardless of Prescott's return, earlier this month, "Undisputed" co-host Shannon Sharpe said the Cowboys are staring at a disappointing finish in the NFC East and another year missing the postseason.
"The New York Giants will win the division. As a matter of fact, I'll go a step further: The Washington Football Team will finish second in the division. Dallas will finish third in the division with a $107 million quarterback.
"Did you know Dak Prescott made the top 10 Forbes list of highest-paid professional athletes?"
Prescott is indeed primed to return and primed to get paid.
Under the franchise tag last season, he made $31.4 million, and after signing his new four-year, $160 million contract on March 8, Prescott hauled in a $66 million signing bonus, meaning the Cowboys have paid him more than $107 million in the past year.
With the financial hurdles out of the way and, apparently, the injury hurdles on their way to being cleared, all that's left for Dak to do is win.
Assuming he starts Week 1, Prescott's journey to come back from injury and lead the Cowboys to the Super Bowl will begin Sept. 9.
His gift upon return? A trip to Tampa Bay.
Welcome back, Dak.
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