Dak Prescott has chosen to undergo surgery for his torn hamstring, which will end his season and further hurt the Dallas Cowboys’ playoff chances as they were already struggling.
Owner Jerry Jones announced on his radio show Tuesday that Prescott will have the surgery on Wednesday in New York.
“His prognosis is wonderful,” Jones said. “It just means we’re not going to have him for the rest of the year.”
The decision comes just over a week after Prescott injured his hamstring during a 27-21 loss to Atlanta. He was on the sideline during Dallas’ fourth consecutive loss, a 34-6 defeat at home to Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Cowboys (3-6) had already prepared to be without Prescott, last season’s NFL MVP runner-up, for at least a month, and they accepted the situation after Prescott consulted with one more specialist.
The recovery time is expected to be at least three months, similar to the amount of time former Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith was out after suffering a similar injury in training camp two years ago.
Prescott’s hamstring was partially torn off the bone, a condition known as a partial avulsion. Surgery is not always necessary for this type of injury, unlike a full tear off the bone, which is what Smith had.
This is the second time in five years that Prescott, 31, will miss more than half a season due to injury. He broke his ankle in Week 5 of 2020, causing the Cowboys to finish 6-10 that year.
With a game against Houston (6-4) on Monday night, the Cowboys are at risk of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2020. The team had made the playoffs in each of the previous three seasons, finishing 12-5 in each of those years.
Prescott wasn’t having a standout year before the injury, with 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions, as the offense had dropped to the middle of the NFL rankings after being one of the best in recent playoff seasons.
Cooper Rush started in Prescott’s place against the Eagles but threw for only 45 yards, the fewest by a Dallas starting quarterback in a game since Matt Cassel had 37 yards in another tough season for the Cowboys in 2015.
Rush and Trey Lance, who briefly replaced Rush in the third quarter and played the rest of the game, combined for just 66 passing yards, the fewest for Dallas since having only 34 yards in a 10-6 loss to Tampa Bay in 2001.
Rush will start again on Monday night against the Texans. The Cowboys also signed Will Grier to their practice squad on Tuesday. Grier had been with the Cowboys from 2021-22.
