Dak Prescott has offered commentary on his injury for the first time since undergoing surgery.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is as tough as they come. Mentally, physically, and spiritually, Prescott has remained grounded in three words since arriving in Dallas: Faith, Fight, and Finish.
A few weeks ago, in a loss against the Atlanta Falcons, Prescott’s 2024 season ended abruptly when he suffered a severe hamstring injury that required surgery. On Monday night against the Houston Texans, Prescott was shown walking around in crutches and wearing a large brace on his leg just a few days removed from surgery to repair his hamstring.
Everyone knew how bad the injury was, now new details and a potential timeline for recovery have emerged in an exclusive interview with the Cowboys quarterback sitting down with David Moore of The Dallas Morning News.
Three tendons connect the hamstring muscle to the pelvis. Two were completely torn off the bone. The third was attached and was no more than three centimeters off the bone.
A complete tear would have made the decision for Prescott. Surgery would have been the only course. But this partial tear fell into a gray area.
Dr. Dan Cooper, the Cowboys’ physician, gave Prescott the options. He sought three other opinions. All told him essentially the same thing.
Prescott would need to rest for four weeks before rehab could even begin. Once he began to work his way back to the field, there was no assurance the hamstring would hold.
“At the end of the day, we were hoping in six weeks I could start gaining strength, which is what all of the doctors were telling me,’’ Prescott said. “But if I waited and rehabbed it, I may or may not be able to regain strength.
Before the regular season in 2022, then left tackle Tyron Smith went down in practice with a complete tear of his hamstring, requiring surgery that put him on the shelf for months. Smith could come back and play, but not until the very end of the season.
If Prescott had gone the rehab route, it sounds like it would have been just a matter of when, not if, the third compromised tendon came off the bone, thus requiring surgery anyway.
“Even if I did, there was still a chance it would likely tear off.’’
The final MRI he had simply confirmed his decision. It showed the final tendon had moved ever closer to that three centimeter mark that makes surgery a no-brainer.
“It started to lift off the bone even more,’’ Prescott said. “That one was doing all the work, and now it was compromised.
“Hell, I had a week of not even playing football, just walking and normal movement and that was tearing it.’’
There’s no question 2024 has had its bright spots for Prescott personally. He welcomed the birth of his first child, MJ Prescott, and got engaged to his girlfriend, Sarah Jane Ramos, during the bye week.
Prescott has never been shy about talking about his emotions and bringing awareness to the uncomfortable. That is what made him the Walter Payton Man of the Year. Talking with Moore, Prescott acknowledges that this season was a roller coaster and a challenge for him.
“It’s been a tough year personally with my emotions because it’s a roller coaster,’’ Prescott told The News when reflecting on the last 11 months. “It’s truly been ups and downs. I would say riding a wave I’m constantly preaching about not riding….
“…The other day, after the game, I guess, it all just hit me,’’ Prescott said of watching his team lose Monday night. “Boom, right. A couple of tears came down.
“This is going to hurt. It’s going to suck at times. You just have to understand this is one of the moments that it does. I don’t want anything right now other than to let it suck.
“It’s understanding and being able to voice that, ‘yeah, I’m blessed to be where I’m at.’’’
Even though the season has seven games remaining on the schedule, Prescott has started the personal journey to getting back as healthy as possible for the 2025 campaign. Moore notes that Prescott has been doing some rehab work during the week, but nothing with his leg just yet.
He should be off the crutches by Christmas, and the brace that holds his leg in place could come off before or around then. A grueling next few months of rehab will follow. But if there has ever been a player to bet all of the chips on coming back stronger than ever, it’s Dak Prescott.
Faith, Fight, Finish—these words will help Prescott overcome this latest challenge, just as they have been the guiding principles for many of his obstacles throughout his football career.