The Dallas Cowboys will take their decision on Dak Prescott’s availability for Sunday’s contest against the Minnesota Vikings to game time, two sources told ESPN’s Ed Werder.
“We are literally going to take it into tomorrow [night],” one source said.
Officially Prescott is listed as questionable because of a calf strain he suffered on the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime against the New England Patriots on Oct. 17. He did not take any team snaps during the week in the regular practices, but he did take them in all of the walkthroughs.
The Cowboys went through what they call their “launch” practice, a fast-paced workout, before flying to Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon.
On Thursday, Prescott said that he wanted to play but that the decision would not be totally his. Dallas will rely heavily on Prescott and director of rehabilitation Britt Brown, who oversaw the quarterback’s comebacks from the fracture and dislocation of his right ankle and the right latissimus strain he suffered in training camp, before making a decision.
Although he wants to play, Prescott acknowledged that the decision needs to be based on what’s best for a full season. The Cowboys have won five straight games and have a commanding lead in the NFC East, but they currently sit fourth in the conference playoff standings behind the Green Bay Packers, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, whom they lost to in the season opener, and the Arizona Cardinals.
On Friday, coach Mike McCarthy said Prescott was sore after he pushed his rehab work harder on Thursday.
“We’re obviously in our seventh game. There’s a ton of football left to play,” McCarthy said. “That’s definitely part of the decision, and we’re just giving him the time that’s needed to take it all in.”
If Prescott does not play, then Cooper Rush would make the first start of his career and Will Grier would serve as the backup. If Prescott does start, then it is possible the Cowboys will dress all three quarterbacks against the Vikings.
Rush took all of the first-team snaps in practice this week, but he has thrown just three passes in his career and none since his rookie season in 2017.
“This is what you work for as a player,” Rush said. “This is what you want to do. You want to go out and play on Sunday. Your whole life you’ve been waiting to do it, and that’s what you work hard for to prepare for. So it would mean a lot to go out there with my teammates and keep this thing rolling like we’ve been.”