Dak Prescott is having surgery today on his right thumb, which was fractured during last night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Dallas Cowboys now expect to be without their starting quarterback for 6-8 weeks, moving Cooper Rush into the driver’s seat on offense.
Prescott left midway through the 4th quarter of Dallas’ embarrassing offensive performance. The Cowboys could do little to move the ball or pick up first downs against the Bucs defense, stifled by the lack of WR talent, pass protection issues, penalties, and some poor play from Dak even before the injury.
One of those protection breakdowns allow Tampa’s Shaq Barrett to get a shot on Prescott, and that’s when a far greater disaster occurred.
Here’s how Dak Prescott injured his hand pic.twitter.com/UVhn4nMkUk
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 12, 2022
Dak Prescott is expected to have surgery Monday on a right thumb injury and miss 6-8 weeks, according to multiple sources. He will meet with the team’s hand specialist on Monday, but sources said he will have a pin and plate inserted to stabilize the joint.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) September 12, 2022
From @GMFB: #Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is out an extended period of time after a thumb fracture, as he’s set for imminent surgery. pic.twitter.com/4VZqOv0MAQ
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 12, 2022
If the current recovery timetable is accurate, Dak would be out at least through the Week 7 game against the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys then host the Bears in Week 8, have their bye in Week 9, and head up to Green Bay for Week 10.
At the very least, we know Prescott will miss the first meetings with the Commanders, Eagles, and Giants this season. He’ll also be out for some tough non-divisional matchups against the Bengals and Rams.
Dallas will now turn to Cooper Rush what should be his most extended playing time in the NFL. Rush has little regular-season experience outside of last year’s game against the Vikings, where he stunned the football world with a strong showing and helped engineer a game-winning drive and touchdown throw to Amari Cooper.
Will Grier is also lurking around on the practice squad. After a competition between the two for the backup job this season, one has to wonder how quickly Dallas might put Grier in a game if Rush is struggling.
But really, given the other offensive issues we saw last night, can any Cowboys quarterback succeed this season?
