Dallas Cowboys Can't Let Dak Prescott End Up Like Tony Romo
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is insistent their franchise quarterback will be back sooner than later. Dak Prescott fractured his thumb on his throwing hand. Unable to grip the ball. Despite the initial return timeline of 6-8 weeks, Jones spoke on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas recently. Stating the belief that Dak could return early […]
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is insistent their franchise quarterback will be back sooner than later. Dak Prescott fractured his thumb on his throwing hand. Unable to grip the ball.
Despite the initial return timeline of 6-8 weeks, Jones spoke on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas recently. Stating the belief that Dak could return early and wouldn't be sent to injured reserve.
As you know in medical, nobody knows those timelines good, but if we thought he wasn’t going to be ready to go until after four games, we would put him on IR. We’re not doing that. We think he can come in and play, so we don’t want to not have him out there practicing. We want him getting prepared. And we’ll see how he handles this thing, how it heals, mainly his strength, how he can grip the ball, what his status is.
Doctor Says Otherwise
Despite Jones's optimism, respected surgeon Kathleen E. McKeon MD an orthopedic surgeon at the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, spoke with The Athletic.
Her belief is that while four games is possible, the initial timeline is much more realistic.
"…An intra-articular fracture to that bone means it goes into the joint. That’s a much more serious injury if it involves the joint. The joint we’re talking about is at the base of the thumb that lets you move your thumb in a circle. It’s what makes our thumbs opposable, so it’s a really important joint. There’s a lot of force across it with any kind of grip or pinch, which you can imagine a quarterback does a lot of gripping. An intra-articular fracture that involves that joint is a much more serious injury…
…Any bone takes about four-to-six weeks to heal, so he would be out presumably until his bone is strong enough that it would allow him to return to impact activities without too much risk. And then it really depends on how quickly he can regain his throwing form, and how quickly he can regain strength. And that’s pretty variable in different patients. I would imagine, the timeline I’ve heard them put out is at least six weeks. I think that’s reasonable. It may be that he can return in six weeks, maybe eight is more realistic, just depending on when he can regain a confident, accurate throw.”
Repeating History
This isn't the first time the Dallas Cowboys owner has been much more confident of his franchise QB returning sooner than he hoped.
Let's turn the clocks back seven years ago. Then starting QB, Tony Romo, lead the Cowboys against the Philadelphia Eagles in the second game of the season. A season that followed an NFC East championship and a controversial playoff loss.
In that game, early in the season, Romo broke his clavicle in his shoulder. The initial timeline of his return was 8-10 weeks estimated.
Rather than revert Romo to IR to fully heal (then eight games to return), Jerry Jones refused to do so. His belief was a confidence in his doctors to have a successful surgery that Romo would be back sooner than previously thought.
He returned after seven games, leading to a Dallas Cowboys victory over the Miami Dolphins. However, the following week, they faced the would-be NFC Champion Carolina Panthers and their daunting defense.
Romo threw three interceptions, two of which were taken back for touchdowns in the first half. Even worse? A hard sack by LB Thomas Davis re-injured the same clavicle he returned from injury.
Result: out for the season.
What Has Followed & Where We're At
The Dallas Cowboys took their eventual Romo successor that off-season in Prescott. A hard-hitting preseason back injury paved the way for the Dak era in Dallas.
They never looked back and Romo retired following the end of the 2016 NFL season.
Now, seven years into his career, Prescott has lead the team to plenty of success as the starting QB, with a 53-33 career record.
Unfortunately, it has also in recent years see him suffer a number of injuries, similar to how Romo finished up his time with the Cowboys.
History Repeating Itself?
Jerry and Stephen Jones have made it clear how much they adore the use of their cap space. Continuing their belief on team-building is cheap veterans, paying home-grown talent and using the NFL Draft heavily.
Both have placed heavy blame on Prescott's contract as a reason the Cowboys are not able to sign higher quality players (proven incorrect), and despite a frugal off-season in which the Cowboys now have the fourth-most cap space in the league, neither are likely to change their ways.
With how the organization has dealt with injured players, including Sean Lee and Tyron Smith, they look likely to do the same with their franchise QB.
Dak Prescott is a competitor and has proven time and time again he can overcome injury.
However, if history is any indication, he'll be back much too soon, which could cost the Dallas Cowboys in more ways than one.
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
