Dak Prescott’s NFL future unsure after horrifying ankle injury
LLANO, Texas — It was the sort of injury you cannot bear to see: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys quarterback, breaking his right ankle so totally that his foot bends and he’s carted off the field, sobbing and biting on a towel.
The mind conjures memories of horrors afflicting other famous quarterbacks: Joe Theismann, Teddy Bridgewater, Alex Smith.
Prescott, a strong-armed quarterback who likes to run, gained 9 yards on a scramble at the end of the third quarter in Sunday’s game in Arlington, Texas. A New York Giants defensive back, Logan Ryan, tackled him at the legs. When his right leg hit the artificial turf, the ankle snapped.
Sunday night surgery reportedly was successful; the player was photographed smiling afterward. It helped his spirits that his backup, Andy Dalton, rallied to beat the winless Giants 37-34.
It also helps that the Cowboys are playing in the NFC Least, where their 2-3 record is good enough for first place. Dalton is about as good a backup as there is. He’s led a team to the playoffs five times, even though the team was the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Cowboys probably will end up battling Philadelphia for the championship of this woeful division. There’s no realistic hope of postseason success for a team that entered the season thinking Super Bowl.
Besides Prescott, the Cowboys have lost their talented offensive tackles, Tyron Smith (neck surgery) and La’el Collins (hip surgery). More bad news came Sunday with defensive tackle Tristen Hill suffering a torn ACL.
This has been an especially destructive NFL season. Perhaps the pandemic is partly to blame. There have been suggestions that because of a limited training camp and no preseason games, players have not been able to work their bodies into ideal condition, leaving them especially prone to injury. There are also claims that Prescott might not have wrenched his lower leg if he’d been playing on natural grass.
But what about his future? He was unable to obtain the long-term contract he’s been seeking, so he played this season on a “franchise tag,” paying $31.4 million, guaranteed.
There’s nothing guaranteed for next year. As much as Jerry Jones likes his players, you can expect him to be cautious about committing to someone recovering from an injury as severe as this one. He might have to settle for a contract conditional on a certain number of games being played.
Theismann’s gruesome broken leg ended his career. Another Washington quarterback, Alex Smith, had an injury eerily similar to Prescott’s: a shattered and dislocated ankle.
Smith underwent 17 surgeries, suffered from infection so severe that amputation was discussed. He’s been rehabbing for two years. He made his return Sunday, and it was considered “miraculous” that the former Pro Bowl passer was able to complete 9 of 17 for 37 yards against the Los Angeles Rams.
Bridgewater, a first-round draft pick, was the Minnesota Vikings’ starting quarterback who wrenched a knee so horribly in a 2016 training camp mishap that onlookers became physically ill. Like Prescott, he was a very mobile quarterback. It took four years before he regained his running ability.
Michael Vick, a retired NFL quarterback who’s now an analyst for Fox Sports, provided insight on what Prescott may face. “With an ankle injury you lose a lot of power in your lower body,” Vick said. “You have to be able to step into throws without worrying if the ankle will get rolled up again. It’s consistently on your mind. I was always worrying about it, altering my throwing motion. If you don’t have a firm base and confidence, the ball will sail on you.”
Prescott is not expected to be able to run plays for at least 4-6 months. We can only hope he avoids the complications that Theismann, Smith and Bridgewater endured.
