The Cowboys didn’t place Dak Prescott on injured reserve, believing he could return sooner than four weeks. Sunday is the first game the quarterback has missed after undergoing surgery on his right thumb Monday.
Prescott could return by Week 4 or Week 5, executive vice president Stephen Jones said Sunday.
“He’s got a chance, maybe the third or fourth game,” Jones told Kristi Scales on 105.3 The Fan during a pregame interview. “We’ll see what happens.”
The original prognosis was 6-8 weeks, but the fracture ended up being “cleaner” than expected, so the timeline was moved up to 4-6 weeks. Prescott has an extra-articular fracture, meaning the break was contained to the bone but not deepening into the joint.
The Cowboys play at the Giants next week, followed by a home game against Washington on Oct. 2 and then a trip to the Rams on Oct. 9.
Of course, if Cooper Rush continues to play the way he played in the first half Sunday, the Cowboys can afford to play it conservatively with Prescott’s return. Rush was thrown for 150 yards and a touchdown as Dallas leads the Bengals 14-3 late in the second quarter.