Scott Long
10/12/20
The Dallas Cowboys season hasn’t gone as the team hoped it would. After having wide receiver Ceedee Lamb fall into the team’s lap with the seventeenth pick in this year’s NFL Draft, the team had its sights set on a Super Bowl appearance. However, quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome injury in the third quarter of their win against the New York Giants this past week.
Prescott was diagnosed with a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle, after being carted off Sunday with tears in his eyes. Recovery time is projected at somewhere between four and six months. The injury reminds fans the human element of the game, as fans and haters of the Cowboys joined hands on social media sharing their prayers to Prescott for a speedy recovery.
Unfortunately for Prescott, he was on pace for a record setting season, entering week 5’s game against the Giants, having already thrown for 1,690 yards with 9 touchdown passes. Projected over a whole season, he was in pace for 6,760 passing yards, which would blow away Peyton Manning’s record setting 2013 season in which he threw for 5,477 yards. Even worse for Prescott is that he was playing under the Franchise tag, meaning he was set to become a free agent after the season, and he was playing for a new contract. Combine the historic season he was having with the fact that he was up for a new contract, and it’s clear he was due for a significant pay raise and long term contract this offseason, either with the Dallas Cowboys, or on the open market as a free agent. However, after the injury, it’s likely that he’s forced to sign another one-year deal or the Franchise tag once again, in order to prove he’s healthy and still able to play at a high level.
Despite getting off to a lackluster 2-3 start on the season the Cowboys still remain in first place in their division, and with a talented offense headed by Ezekiel Elliot, Amari Cooper, Lamb and Michael Gallup. With the talent surrounding Dalton as Prescott’s replacement, a playoff appearance still remains very much in reach.
Dallas will likely dedicate this season to Prescott, as was already evidenced Sunday, as Elliot and teammates dedicated their first touchdown after he left the game to Prescott. They hope Dalton and the offense will be able to come together and rally for Prescott, and make the playoffs. As for Prescott, football fans, reporters, coaches and players are all praying for a seamless and speedy recovery for the star quarterback, and hoping he can return to the high level of play he was performing at, whenever he is able to return to the field.