The Dallas Cowboys are preparing backup quarterback Cooper Rush to make his fifth straight start in place of the injured Dak Prescott on Sunday night at the Philadelphia Eagles.
But Prescott is continuing to inch closer to a return after missing the last four games with a fractured right thumb.
He was an official participant in practice Thursday for the first time since suffering the injury in the season-opening loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and undergoing surgery on Sept. 12.
Prescott, who threw to receivers after practice on Wednesday, did a little throwing in practice on Thursday.
“I caught passes from him today,” receiver CeeDee Lamb said. “I’m waiting for him to get back; until then we’re going to keep working, keep grinding. He looks healthy.”
Do you think he’s close?
“I think so. ... He’s shaking back, looking better than ever,” Lamb said.
Coach Mike McCarthy said Prescott looked good throwing after practice on Wednesday and the plan was for him to participate in quarterback school and then throw after practice again on Thursday.
Asked why they weren’t planning on Prescott throwing during practice, McCarthy paused and said, “preparing to get ready for a game and he’s still in the rehab phase.”
McCarthy was later asked why the Cowboys were so upfront about starting Rush and not playing the guessing game to force the Eagles to spend time preparing for two quarterbacks.
“I think we’re fine the way we’re playing it,” McCarthy said. “Not to be a broken record, I think it speaks to the mental process that you have to go through to get a player to return and that’s definitely the case with Dak. We’ve been very upfront of where he is in his rehab. Just the facts of the matter.”
And yet when asked about whether Prescott threw during or after practice on Thursday, Lamb laughed and refused to answer the question.
Prescott tried to laugh off a similar question in the locker room, saying it’s all practice.
But when asked again, Prescott put his thumb and index finger together, signifying a little bit.
Vice president Stephen Jones spoke to the media during practice on Thursday and left Prescott’s status up in the air, saying, “if he misses this week, it will be the fifth” week out.
If he misses this week.
Might this all just be a game?
