When Dak Prescott went out with a hamstring injury against the Atlanta Falcons last year, it felt like any last gasp at a playoff spot was pretty much deceased.
While Prescott has had to wait months for his hamstring to recover, he's been the victim of some foolish quarterback rankings in the NFL media this offseason. History has proven that Prescott has come back stronger, and with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens as his primary targets, Prescott will no doubt be on a comeback mission in 2025.
Cowboys writer Kurt Daniels of DallasCowboys.com writes that Prescott's injury history should force him to change his approach. It seemed like 2016 was just yesterday when Prescott established himself quickly as a duel-threat quarterback, but Daniels says those days should be over entirely.
Cowboys' Dak Prescott should completely abandon being a dual-threat QB
One fan asked the if Prescott's days of running the football are over. Prescott isn't a stranger to running with the ball whenever necessary, but it was never a strong identity that he ever held to. Daniels believes that Prescott's duel-threat days are history.
"I think it's safe to say that Prescott's days as a true dual-threat quarterback are behind him. We learned a tough lesson last year when those of us who wanted him to run more promptly saw him rip his hamstring tendon from the bone after a scramble. Of course, he was lost for the season."
Kurt Daniels
Just going through one major lower body injury is bad enough in an NFL career, but Prescott has now suffered two of them. Back in 2020, when Prescott suffered a devastating ankle injury against the New York Giants, it was unclear at the time how he was going to respond to that. He came back in 2021 throwing for nearly 4,500 passing yards, 37 touchdowns and QB rating of 104.2.
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Daniels adds that Prescott doesn't have to be running quarterback for Dallas to win big games, and he's proven that repeatedly. After all, his best rushing season was in 2018 when he rushed 75 times for 305 yards and six scores. Not exactly up to Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen territory.
Prescott's history does show that he has to change up his game, though. Play the conservative route and just throw the ball out of bounds if need be. Plenty of the great quarterbacks throughout history have had to change their style as they've gotten older, and Prescott is just another guy that has to adjust.