DALLAS – After suffering a season-ending hamstring injury in Week 9 of the 2024 season, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has been attacking his recovery process and expects to be a part of the team's offseason activates in some capacity.
"I'm getting close to where I want to be, I don't want to put a percentage on it," Prescott said of his hamstring at the 35th annual Children's Cancer Fund gala. "I know we've got team activities coming up, imagine myself being involved in some sort if not all.
"Then again I just understand my age, what I've had, what I've went through, it's about being my best in the fall. So I'm not rushing anything, but I'm where I want to be."
This is not the first time that Prescott has gone through an injury recovery process, but all of them have been different. At the end of the day, Prescott fully commits himself to the process knowing that the grass is greener ahead of him.
"It's just the work that I've put into it, unfortunately I've been through this process of recovering from injuries before that I embrace it," Prescott said. "I know that a better version of me is on the other side, so that's just the way that I've approached this whole offseason and this whole rehab process."
The good news is that if the season started today, Prescott feels he would be ready, but he's looking at the bigger picture.
"If I had to play a game today, I definitely could do that," Prescott said. "It's about moving forward healthy to make sure I can play 17 times, 20 [games], whatever we get to when the time's right."
After videos circulated of Prescott throwing to teammates in an indoor facility, there was chatter about him losing significant weight. Prescott jokingly called himself "The Slim Reaper," but nothing has been lost.
"I actually haven't really lost any weight, weight's just moved," Prescott said. "Building my legs back up obviously from the hamstring. Might be leaner up top, but weight's the same."
Part of building his legs back up, especially after this injury, is for Prescott to be able to do what he does best: Be a game-changer with his mobility. The hamstring injury brought into question how much he'd be able to use that aspect of his game going forward, but Prescott made it clear that it's still going to be important.
"Me playing my best, I'm mobile," Prescott said. Whether it's actually running past the line of scrimmage or just scrambling making plays happen with my arm, so that's vital for me, that's a big part of this."
"I've been running more, obviously you've got to when you're rehabbing a hamstring, it's about just staying on that trend of just getting better, staying mobile but doing it while feeling healthy."
When he was off the field in 2025, Cooper Rush stepped in for a majority of the season for the Cowboys in Prescott's absence. This offseason, Rush signed a deal with the Baltimore Ravens, and Prescott had nothing but good things to say about his longtime teammate and backup.
"I don't know if I could ever put a value on what Cooper Rush has meant to me throughout my career, honestly…" Prescott said. You're talking about a guy that approaches the game the right way, is a real man off the field, is a true leader in what he does and the way he walks that Baltimore is getting a hell of a guy to add to that quarterback room."
Now, the new era of the Cowboys' quarterback room currently has Will Grier and newly acquired Joe Milton III behind Prescott. Regardless of who is in the room, Prescott is all about iron sharpening iron and being able to lead the team in the right direction.
"Whether it be Will Grier or Joe Milton, anybody that's played with me or been in that quarterback room knows that all I care about is everybody pushing everybody and getting better…" Prescott said.
"I'm excited to add Joe to the room, and I know Will is as well, and if there's another one that gets added in this mean time, it's all about elevating our game as the leaders, as the quarterback position, to make sure the rest of the team and the message is clear and concise."
Prescott spoke to reporters while attending the Children's Cancer Fund Gala, something he's strongly supported since 2017. Prescott follows in the footsteps of his predecessors Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman in doing so and was asked by Staubach himself to be a part of the cause in his place going forward.
As a soon to be father of two girls, Prescott has learned a lot from the children fighting the cancer battle and has been inspired by their stories. Now, it's all about paying it forward.
"They want to be doctors, they want to be teachers, they want to be the future quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, and I'm here to tell them that they can be," Prescott said. "They can make their adversity their strength, and it's just a blessing to be a part of this."
