Dak Prescott won't play a real game for another five months, and his surgically repaired hamstring is almost healed now.
“If I had to play a game today, I definitely could do that,” the Cowboys quarterback said Friday, via Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “It’s about moving forward healthy to make sure I can play 17-20 times when the time is right.”
Video on social media has shown Prescott throwing to teammates at a local high school in preparation for the opening of the team's offseason program on Monday.
Prescott’s right hamstring tore off the bone in a Week 9 game against the Falcons, and he underwent surgery Nov. 13.
“I’m getting close to where I want to be,” Prescott said. “I don't want to put a percentage on it. I know we got team activities coming up. I imagine myself being involved in some sort, if not all. Then again, understanding my age and what I’ve been through, it’s about being ready for the fall. I’m not rushing anything, but I’m where I want to be.”
Prescott, 32, has missed a total of 26 games the past five seasons with ankle, calf, thumb and hamstring injuries. He also had a shoulder injury that caused him to miss practice time in training camp in 2021.
"It's just the work that I've put into it, unfortunately I've been through this process of recovering from injuries before that I embrace it," Prescott said. "I know that a better version of me is on the other side, so that's just the way that I've approached this whole offseason and this whole rehab process."
In his first four seasons, Prescott ran for 1,221 yards on 241 carries. He averaged 5.1 yards per carry and 19.1 yards per game. In the past four seasons, since his gruesome ankle injury in 2020, Prescott has 161 carries for 624 yards. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry and 11.8 yards per game.
Prescott downplays any question about his mobility no longer being what it once was.
"Me playing my best, I'm mobile," Prescott said, "whether it's actually running past the line of scrimmage or just scrambling making plays happen with my arm. So, that's vital for me. That's a big part of this.
"I've been running more. Obviously, you've got to when you're rehabbing a hamstring. It's about just staying on that trend of just getting better, staying mobile but doing it while feeling healthy."
