Jerry Jones: Dak Prescott can’t yet grip well enough to play

Jori Epstein

For the long haul, Jerry Jones has tapped the brakes.

Forget the Dallas Cowboys’ win streak, forget Cooper Rush’s 4-0 career record as a starter, forget the Cowboys team owner’s self-created controversy over who might quarterback his team later in 2022.

Tuesday morning, Jones told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan he cannot envision a number of wins or level of performance that would prompt him to anoint Rush over seven-year pro Dak Prescott.

“No, no, no,” Jones said Tuesday morning. “As I see it right today.”

When Prescott recovers sufficiently from a fracture near the thumb of his right throwing hand, he will reclaim his throne as franchise quarterback.

Has that time arrived? It appears not.

Prescott is scheduled to meet with a doctor Tuesday, three weeks and a day following the surgical repair of his throwing thumb, per head coach Mike McCarthy. Prescott had a stitch removed from his thumb Sept. 26, saying later in the week that while he could lightly throw, he was not yet throwing with purpose.

The Cowboys want him to go through a full week of preparation before he returns to play, McCarthy said Monday afternoon. Until Prescott takes first-team snaps and fully participates in practices leading up to a contest, Rush will continue his stint in relief.

Jones has reiterated that grip strength rather than reinjury is the major concern.

Can Prescott grip a football?

“No, not well enough to play,” Jones said Tuesday.

Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones quashed any notion, even self-created, that Dak Prescott will resume his duties as the starting quarterback once fully healthy. But he isn't yet. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano)
Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones quashed any notion, even self-created, that Dak Prescott will resume his duties as the starting quarterback once fully healthy. But he isn't yet. (AP Photo/Steve Luciano) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

In three starts, Rush has completed 61.8% of passes for 673 yards, four touchdowns, no turnovers and a 100.1 rating.

Prescott struggled in the season opener, completing just 48.3% of passes for 134 yards and an interception vs. a feisty Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense.

But he’s compiled a 53-33 record in seven years, completing 66.4% of throws for 22,217 yards and 143 touchdowns to 51 interceptions. Prescott’s career rating is 98.2, including a 104.2 mark and 37:10 touchdown-to-interception line last season. He’s also more mobile than Rush, having rushed for 1,471 yards and 25 touchdowns as a pro.

The Cowboys visit the Super Bowl defending champion Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The following week, they travel to face their NFC East rival and the NFL’s lone undefeated team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jones declined to rule out Prescott for this week’s competition against the Rams though expectation is that the $40 million quarterback will not yet return.

“I know that he’s going to go out there every day and make progress toward being able to grip the ball,” Jones said of Prescott. “I don’t know that you could ask for better news technically, physically, how it’s responding and healing so to speak.”

Follow Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein https://twitter.com/JoriEpstein

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