Cowboys starting quarterback Dak Prescott said early in his career that he couldn’t imagine playing into his 40s like Brett Favre, Tom Brady and Drew Brees. Now, 32 and in his 10th season, Prescott has changed his mind.
“Forties would be a good number,” Prescott said, via Todd Archer of ESPN. “Obviously, I’ve been through some injuries; played very physical in college, so if I can get to 40 playing at the standard that I want, yeah, that would be awesome.”
Troy Aikman and Tony Romo both retired at 34 after injuries. Roger Staubach was 37 in his last season.
Prescott, who is signed through 2028 when he would be 35, 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.
Quarterbacks, though, are playing longer. Aaron Rodgers is 42, and Joe Flacco 40.
"[My perspective] has definitely changed,” Prescott said. “I can see it more realistically now. Just as much as anything, the fun and the peace this game still gives me 10 years in is going to be hard [to replace]. You can’t supplement it. As long as I can do this at a level that I’m proud and happy with, I’ll keep trying.”
Prescott is almost guaranteed to retire — whenever that is — with most of the team’s passing records.
He needs only 150 passing yards to surpass Aikman (32,942) for second place in team history. Tony Romo is the all-time leader with 34,183 yards.
Prescott needs one win to break a tie with Romo and move into third place in team history with 79 victories. Aikman (94) and Staubach (85) top the list. Earlier this season, Prescott became the all-time leader in completions (2,919), and he is second in attempts (4,354) to Aikman and second in touchdown passes (223) to Romo.
“Truthfully. Don’t look it up. Couldn’t tell you. Honestly couldn’t even tell you the number,” Prescott said. “Seriously couldn’t. I think if anything it’s just a testament of how long I’ve been playing. That’s the biggest blessing, and that’s what I’m so thankful for — still playing the game that I love. Talking about the peace and the fun that I’m having, it’s just about being present. I know if I continue to do that at the level that I want to, those things will just happen.”