Dak Prescott's message to Cowboys teammates is one they badly needed to hear
Thinking back to that rookie season from Dak Prescott in 2016, there's only one word that does it justice: Easy. That's how he made it all look. A fourth-round rookie who at one point in the offseason was the third-string quarterback made the toughest job in sports look effortless as he led one of the […]
Thinking back to that rookie season from Dak Prescott in 2016, there's only one word that does it justice: Easy.
That's how he made it all look. A fourth-round rookie who at one point in the offseason was the third-string quarterback made the toughest job in sports look effortless as he led one of the best offenses in the NFL to a 13-3 record and the top seed in the NFC.
Despite a tough playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round, Prescott held his own against Aaron Rodgers and established himself as the clear-cut future of the franchise, which indirectly led to Tony Romo's retirement from the gridiron.
As simple as playing quarterback at a high level seemed to Prescott as a rookie, he's learned a thing or two since then: It's not easy at all.
"Now I'm the vet telling these guys that (…) After my rookie year, the way that that wild phantom of a year that was, thinking 'oh, well this is easy, this is what the rest is going to be like," Prescott told reporters ahead of Saturday's Week 17 game against the Detroit Lions.
"To be sitting here now in Year 8 understanding that you don't have these teams, you don't have these opportunities as often as you would think," he added.
Now in Year 8 of his career and in the brink of a second massive contract extension, Prescott understands how much of a rarity that 2016 Cowboys team was. One of the best offensive lines in football, Ezekiel Elliott's best season to this day, and a solid defense made it easy on him to keep winning to the point he was briefly fooled by how the league operates.
What's more, Dak understands this is that kind of a football team. And as the veteran leader he is, he's made it clear to his teammates. They shouldn't take this roster for granted. Opportunities to play for a Super Bowl-caliber roster don't come around this often.
"I know we're all confident, believe in ourselves but we've got a special group right now," Prescott added sincerely. "Things are laying up for us in the right way, and we've got to make sure, as I said, we hold ourselves accountable, create some good momentum, be disciplined, and just really lock in, lock into this thing, and make these sacrifices because what we want is in front of us."
Prescott, now 30 years old, understands the importance of a team made up of young, rising stars understands that. When many of your top players like Micah Parsons and CeeDee Lamb are what's keeping your team going, it's of the utmost importance that they hear this from their quarterback. It's not always going to be like this. And there's little room for mistakes if they want to go all the way. It really takes an all-in approach.
"So we've got to make sure these young guys understand and that starts with us as the older guys, the veterans in the locker room, and make sure we take advantage of it."
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It’s time for him to step up.
