Dak Prescott injury update: Details emerge on severity, timeline for Cowboys QB's return

Dak Prescott suffered a partial avulsion of his hamstring tendon, which is partially torn off the bone, NFL Network’s Jane Slater reported. The recovery timeline is usually more than four weeks, but Prescott is seeking more opinions – which is why the Cowboys haven’t officially placed him on injured reserve.

Prescott suffered the injury in last week’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, and the expectation was he’d miss “multiple weeks” as a result. The Cowboys haven’t yet given a timetable for his return as they weigh the IR decision, Slater reported.

Jerry Jones hinted at the possibility of injured reserve during a regular radio appearance this week, which would put Prescott out for a minimum of four games. However, the team hasn’t yet made any official move ahead of this week’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Cooper Rush will get the start in Prescott’s absence.

As the #Cowboys weigh in on Dak Prescott’s IR status, sources tell me the initial diagnosis is a partial avulsion of his hamstring tendon which is partially torn off the bone. I’m told it typically takes more than a 4 week recovery. In some cases, they let it scar over, repair…

— Jane Slater (@SlaterNFL) November 6, 2024

Prescott is in the midst of an up-and-down year after signing a lucrative contract extension ahead of the season, which made him the NFL’s highest-paid player. He’s completing 64.7% of his passes – the second-worst rate of his career – for 1,978 yards, 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

At the time of his injury against Atlanta, Dak Prescott was 18-of-24 for 133 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys eventually fell 27-21. After the game, he said he felt something like never before when he went down and said he wanted to go back in. However, the medical staff told him it’d be best to stay on the sideline.

“I gotta get it looked at,” Prescott said, via Jeff Darlington of ESPN. “Didn’t think much of it — then the next play, I felt a pull. That’s something I never felt. It was tough to walk on it at that point. I asked if I could make it worse. The [medical staff] said I wouldn’t be able to protect myself. I wanted to get out there and compete. I wanted to get out there and fight.”

After the game, Jones expressed his concern about Prescott missing time. He also said he began to worry when he saw the initial play.

“I am concerned about that,” Jones said. “It concerned me when I saw the play. I saw him have a reaction to any weakness he might have had there in his hand. We just have to take a look at that.”