After he missed the final nine games of the 2024 season with a torn hamstring, the Dallas Cowboys are counting on nine-year veteran quarterback Dak Prescott to have a healthy season and lead them back to the playoffs, after missing out for the first time in four years last year.
But will Prescott be ready? Speaking to DallasCowboys.com earlier this month, the 31-year-old did not sound completely sure.
“I’m getting close to where I want to be, I don’t want to put a percentage on it,” Prescott said, during a appearance at he 35th annual Children’s Cancer Fund gala. “Then again I just understand my age, what I’ve had, what I’ve went through, it’s about being my best in the fall. So I’m not rushing anything, but I’m where I want to be.”
Prescott added that if he “had to play a game today, I definitely could do that,” but he appeared to express doubt about his ability to get through a full 17-game season, or more games that that should Dallas achieve its hoped-for return to the playoffs.
Joe Milton Saying All The Right Things — So Far
With Prescott’s potential availability, or lack of it, clearly in mind, the Cowboys pulled off a trade on April 3 to acquire New England Patriots rookie backup signal-caller Joe Milton III, picking up the 2024 sixth-round draft pick for no more than a fifth-rounder.
While Milton is not expected to challenge Prescott for the starter’s job, the former Tennessee starter, who was the MVP of the Volunteers’ 2022 Orange Bowl victory over Clemson, did not feel that way in New England.
Milton reportedly was open about his desire to take on No. 3 overall draft pick Drake Maye for the Patriots starting job, an according to Boston-area media reports displayed a sense of “entitlement” about the role that provoked head coach Mike Vrabel into making the trade that sent Milton to Dallas.
So far, Milton has said all the right things about his pending relationship with Prescott, calling the three-time Pro Bowl pick “a great person” and expressing how much he looks forward to learning from him.
But if Milton, as he did behind Maye and veteran backup Jacoby Brissett in New England, finds himself relegated to the bench or even the practice squad for the most of the season, the chance that he could cause discord in the quarterback room cannot be discounted.
To compete with Milton, and possibly even displace him, Anthony Palacios of Last Word on Sports wrote on Saturday that the Cowboys could trade for another, more experienced backup quarterback who is now reportedly on the market — one who could compete with Milton or provide insurance if the former Patriot does not work out, for personality or other reasons.
Former Commanders QB Could Challenge Milton
That quarterback is Sam Howell, currently with the Seattle Seahawks. On an expiring rookie contract this year, Howell is owed only $1.1 million on his $4 million deal. Seahawks general manager John Schnieder said on Monday that the team had received multiple inquiries about Howell’s availability and that he would be “open” to dealing away the 2022 Washington Commanders fifth-round pick.
Howell, who preceded Maye as North Carolina’s starting quarterback and led the ACC with 3,586 passing yards in 2020, is actually younger than Milton by five months, but has 19 more NFL games on his resumé — having started all 17 games for Washington in 2023. Milton has played in one NFL game.
But the Commanders traded Howell to Seattle after he led the NFL in interceptions with 21. Washington then drafted Jayden Daniels out if LSU who proceeded to put up a record-setting rookie season.
“Prescott could be on the hot seat if he can’t produce the results the organization wants despite his contract extension,” Palacios wrote. “Howell might not start, but after losing Cooper Rush and Trey Lance, it’s never a bad idea to have more than two quarterbacks.”
The Cowboys also have Will Grier as a backup to Prescott. But Grier has appeared in only two NFL games and none since 2019. Prescott signed a record-setting, four-year, $240 million contract extension last September.
