An injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, left, talks with head coach Mike McCarthy, right, prior to a game Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022.
An injured Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, left, talks with head coach Mike McCarthy, right, prior to an NFL game Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022, in Arlington, Texas. | Ron Jenkins, Associated Press

By Kelsey Dallas

Kelsey is an assistant managing editor for the Deseret News. She covers religion, sports and the Supreme Court.

As the Dallas Cowboys take on the New York Giants on Monday Night Football, many eyes will be searching the sidelines, looking for confirmation that injured Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be back in action soon.

The latest reports say Prescott got his stitches removed on Monday and that his thumb is healing about as well as Dallas could have hoped.

NFL Insider Ian Rapoport and others predict the quarterback will be back in the starting lineup for the Cowboys’ Oct. 16 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“Believing that the swelling will go down, that practice participation will pick up and that the small fracture in the thumb of his throwing hand will heal during this time frame is a positive move from the initial belief that Prescott might miss eight weeks,” Sports Illustrated reported.

How did Dak Prescott injure his thumb?

Prescott’s thumb injury happened on Sept. 11, during the Cowboy’s first game of the season. He accidentally hit his hand against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers player’s arm while completing his throwing motion during a fourth-quarter drive.

After the game, Prescott noted that he didn’t realize the injury was serious at first.

“I’ve hit my hand on helmets or bodies a lot in my career,” he said, according to The New York Times. “Never really had anything, maybe a jammed finger. I actually thought that’s what it was. The next play I realized I couldn’t grip the ball.”

But medical exams later confirmed that Prescott’s thumb was actually fractured and that he’d need surgery. As Sports Illustrated noted, initial reports said Prescott could miss up to eight weeks.

Who is playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys?

Cooper Rush has been the starting quarterback in the absence of Prescott. He’s been with the Cowboys since 2017, when the team signed him as an undrafted free agent.

Rush played well enough against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sept. 18 to prompt Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to joke that Prescott might not have a job waiting for him once he healed.

But he and head coach Mike McCarthy have both since said that Prescott will clearly be the starter moving forward.

“There is no quarterback controversy. ... Dak is our starter,” McCarthy said on Sept. 22, according to ESPN.

A timeline of Dak Prescott’s injuries

Dak Prescott’s fractured thumb is not his first serious injury. He also missed time in each of the past two seasons.

“Dak Prescott missed 12 games between 2020 and 2021. A serious foot injury cost him 11 games in 2020, while a calf strain cost him a game against the Vikings last year,” The Spun reported.

  • The foot injury came on Oct. 11, 2020, during a game against the New York Giants.
  • The calf strain came on Oct. 17, 2021, during a game against the New England Patriots.