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Todd Archer, ESPN writer
FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is dealing with a partial avulsion of his right hamstring, meaning part of the tendon has detached from the bone, a source confirmed Wednesday.
Prescott has not yet been placed on injured reserve. If he is placed on IR, he would miss a minimum of four games, which would keep him out at least until December 9 against the visiting Cincinnati Bengals should such a move be made this week. But two sources said Prescott would likely need a recovery period longer than four weeks.
NFL Network first reported the nature of Prescott’s injury.
Prescott was injured after a five-yard scramble late in the third quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons. On the next play, cameras caught him grimacing as he threw a wobbly 10-yard pass to Jalen Brooks. After the game, he said he had never had that feeling before.
“I felt it when I got up from running. I can’t even say I felt it running,” Prescott said. “The tackle, maybe something in the tackle. Yeah, I don’t know. But when I was standing, I felt something, actually. I didn’t think it was much. You get tired. It’s a physical game. A lot of times you feel different things and They sort of disappear.”
Prescott underwent an MRI on Monday, and a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the quarterback would be out for several weeks.
In 2022, Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith suffered a complete hamstring avulsion in a training camp practice that required surgery. He missed the first 13 games of that season.
The Cowboys will start Cooper Rush at quarterback in Prescott’s absence. Rush is 5-1 as Prescott’s replacement, including a 4-1 season in 2022 after Prescott suffered a broken right thumb in the season opener. Rush has nine touchdown throws, six interceptions and 1,786 passing yards in 30 appearances.
Trey Lance will serve as a substitute.
“Cooper’s been great at getting Dak ready to play, and now Dak, there’s going to be a role reversal there,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy said. “[Rush’s] the temperament is excellent. I would say he’s as balanced as any individual, especially a quarterback, I’ve had the opportunity to work with. Cerebral. Elegant. It gives you the flexibility to continue playing. I think that’s what you want in all your quarterbacks. “You don’t want to get to a point where you have to change a lot of things offensively because of who’s behind center.”
