Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was specifically looking to utilize Dak Prescott’s legs in 2023, and the quarterback answered the call, recording his most carries in five years en route to All-Pro honors. By contrast, Prescott has been a virtual non-factor on the ground this year, both as a designated runner and scrambler, managing just 10 rushes through seven games.
Asked this week whether Prescott doesn’t want to run or is no longer physically fit, team owner Jerry Jones offered conflicting explanations: “I think it’s both,” Jones said initially, via ESPNbefore then retrograde. “[His] ability to run is — it’s not a question as much as he physically. He can run.”
So why doesn’t Prescott do that? It turns out Jones doesn’t really want the quarterback running the ball either.
“You really don’t want to see him really take off with that ball,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “These quarterbacks that run, you know they’re going to get hurt. And it happens. It happens to the youngest, it happens to the best. It happened to Dak… I wouldn’t say it’s up there in red letters in the practice area: ‘Don’t run.’ But I would say we want him to be smart about it, and he’s smart about it … I don’t want to see him take those kinds of hits.”
Prescott’s 24 rushing yards during the Cowboys’ 3-4 start puts him on pace for career-low rushing production, not counting the 2020 season in which he played just five games due to injury. Unfortunately for Dallas, the veteran hasn’t exactly made up for it through the air, completing just 63.7% of his throws so far, with 10 touchdowns and eight interceptions, tied for second most among all quarterbacks.
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