Dak Prescott was consulting with a hand specialist Monday morning.
Surgery is scheduled on his fractured right thumb later Monday afternoon.
No definitive timetable will be established until that surgery is complete. But the Cowboys are bracing themselves for the prospect that they will be without their starting quarterback until after the bye week, placing his return at mid-November.
Prescott is looking at a timeframe of six to eight weeks, persons with knowledge of the severity of the injury told The Dallas Morning News. That appears to be the best possible prognosis at this stage. And that puts him squarely into the second half of the season.
“It’s very disappointing, but injuries happen,’’ Prescott said after Sunday night’s 19-3 loss to Tampa Bay. “I can’t necessarily control it, it’s just unfortunate.
“I am going to miss some time and not be there for my team. That’s what hurts more than anything, especially after the start we just put out there.’’
Six weeks from the time of surgery puts the Cowboys at Oct. 24, which is the day after their home game against Detroit. The team hosts Chicago one week later before the bye.
Does the team bring Prescott back from a major injury to play one game before the bye? That would be out of character given the club’s history with how it handles players in their return.
The most likely date — and again, a clearer understanding of what he faces won’t be known until later today — is the Cowboys game against Green Bay on Nov. 13.
A Cowboys team that swept the NFC East last season has three division games in that span. It starts later this month on the road against the New York Giants. That’s followed by a game against Washington on Oct. 2 and at Philadelphia on Oct. 16. There’s no way Prescott is back for any of those games.
Prescott is 25-6 against the division in his career.
Cooper Rush is now the team’s starting quarterback until further notice. He had one start in the first five years of his NFL career, a win over Minnesota on the road last season.
If Prescott does return on Nov. 13, it will have rendered him unavailable due to injury in nearly half — 19 of 41_ of the games during Mike McCarthy’s coaching tenure. He missed the final 11 games of the 2020 season with a compound fracture and dislocated ankle. He missed a game last season with a calf strain.
And now this.
“Things happens that I can’t control and who am I to question it?’’ Prescott asked.
“It’s not the worst thing that’s happened to me. It’s just another bump in the road and I’ll keep moving forward.’’
First up: Cooper Rush vs. Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.
