Dak Prescott is headed to injured reserve, with his timetable to return from Sunday’s hamstring injury still unclear.
While the move has not been officially made, Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said during an interview with team affiliate 105.3 The Fan the team will have to do it. He also said the team didn’t know whether Prescott would be able to play again this season.
“I think it’s probably no way he can be back in the four-week timeframe. We’ll put him over there and we’ll have that roster spot to use in terms of the next four weeks and go from there.
“Obviously a tough, tough situation, losing him for that period of time, but we’re going to do what’s in the best interest of Dak, and right now I don’t think anyone knows whether it’ll be four weeks, six weeks or the season. We’ll just have to continue to monitor that and see where it takes us.”
Prescott went down with the injury last week against the Atlanta Falcons and has had his status up in the air in the days since. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Wednesday conceded an IR stint was likely, but the more concerning news came Thursday when it was reported Prescott’s injury might require season-ending surgery.
ESPN’s Todd Archer reports Prescott is facing a 6-8 week timetable for a partial avulsion of his right hamstring, though no decision has been made on the surgery.
With Prescott out for the foreseeable future, all eyes will be on Cooper Rush as the career backup again takes over under center for Dallas. After taking over for Prescott in the fourth quarter Sunday, Rush went 13-of-25 for 115 passing yards and a touchdown. He holds a 5-1 career record as a starter.
Jones expressed confidence that Rush could help the team without Prescott:
“I thought Cooper did a hell of a job against Atlanta the other day. He’s obviously stepped up in the past and won a lot of games for us, so we feel real good about what Cooper can do.”
Prescott’s absence comes at an especially bad time for the 3-5 Cowboys, who have had no shortage of injuries this season. The team has divisional matchups coming up in three of its next four games, and it could be all but eliminated from the playoffs by the end of that stretch if it goes badly.