Despite the original 6-8 week absence that was projected for his right thumb injury and surgery, Dak Prescott may be back sooner than we thought. Jerry Jones declared today that the Dallas Cowboys’ quarterback will not be moving to injured reserve with the hope that he could return within the next four weeks.

Prescott’s thumb was fractured after being hit by a Tampa Bay defender in Sunday night’s season opener. He had surgery yesterday and it was originally reported that he could miss up to two months.

With recent changes to the NFL’s rules for injured reserve, Dak would have to sit out a minimum of four games if placed on IR. That would free up a spot on the 53-man roster for the Cowboys to secure another QB or at least use it in some other beneficial way.

But in a radio interview today, Dallas’ owner and general manager announced that Prescott would not be going to IR. The only logical reason for that would be a realistic hope that Dak could play sooner than four-week window.

Jerry Jones on @1053thefan said Dak Prescott (thumb) won’t be going on injured reserve. He thinks Prescott could play within the next four games

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 13, 2022

There are always discoveries during a surgery that can change the original thoughts about an injury and recovery timetables. Perhaps Prescott’s procedure yesterday revealed some positive things about the severity and his chances to return faster.

Whatever the case, now the potential for Dak to miss fewer games is out there and helps pump a little hope back into this early disaster of a season. Cooper Rush will certainly be the guy in Cincinnati and perhaps a couple more games after, but we’ll see what the future holds.