Cowboys QB Prescott to Miss Several Weeks – The Dallas Cowboys crisis has hit an all-time low. They will be without their starting quarter and the straw that stirs the drink for several weeks. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Dak Prescott will miss “multiple games” after injuring his hamstring in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-21 loss to Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons.
He initially felt a pull in his hamstring, but “didn’t think much of it.”
“I felt it when I was getting up from the run,” Prescott said Sunday. “I can’t even say that I felt it running. The tackle, maybe something on the tackle. Yeah, I don’t know, but when I was standing up, I felt something actually. Didn’t think it was much. You get tired. It’s a physical game. A lot of times you feel different things and they kind of go away.”
On the ensuing play, cameras spotted him grimacing in obvious pain as he threw a wobbling 10-yard pass to Jalen Brooks on the wide side of the field.
“Then the next play, I felt a pull. That’s something I never felt. It was tough to walk on it at that point,” Prescott said after the game. He did not come back in for the fourth quarter and was replaced by backup quarterback, and 7th year veteran Cooper Rush, who is slated to start in Prescott’s place.
He made sure to ask the trainers and the medical staff whether he could exacerbate the injury if he continued to play and was told he would not be able to protect himself, so he was pulled in favor of Rush to start the fourth quarter.
Trey Lance, the former No. 3 overall pick out of North Dakota State, is line to be Rush’s backup with Prescott sidelined.
Pelissero reported that the Cowboys (3-5) have yet to determine whether they will put Prescott on injured reserve, but the injury is “worse than expected.”
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Cowboys have had a disappointing season to say the least, up to this point, and injuries to crucial players like Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland have played an enormous factor in that. And losing Prescott on top of that, even for a few weeks, makes it nearly impossible that they will be able to pull themselves out of this hole.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones hinted after the game that the team could be buyers prior to Tuesday’s trade deadline, but that is the football equivalent of putting a Band-Aid over a major wound.
And…
Niners RB McCaffrey Back at Practice – Things are looking up in the Bay area. Running back Christian McCaffrey, who is the glue that holds the 49ers together, has taken a monumental step forward on the road to making his long and much anticipated 2024 season debut.
The San Francisco 49ers officially opened McCaffrey’s practice window on Monday,
McCaffrey has been sidelined since training camp got underway with calf and Achilles tendonitis and now has exactly three weeks to ramp up and for the 49ers to add him to the active roster.
It has been a long, arduous and winding path to get to this point.
At the beginning of training camp, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan announced McCaffrey would likely miss a couple of weeks of practice due to a calf injury and would not play in the preseason as a precaution.
However, CMC was then a surprising inactive in the season opener against the New York Jets and eventually was placed on injured reserve, a seemingly non-serious injury that the Niners were being cautious about, growing to a major concern.
McCaffrey even traveled overseas to Germany to get expert treatment on the nagging ailment.
Now, his practice window is open and the 49ers (4-4), who were on a bye week, are hoping it will lead to his season debut sooner rather than later.
In McCaffrey’s absence, Jordan Mason has filled in and done more than his fair share, rushing for 685 yards in eight games. Mason injured up his shoulder in Week 8 against the Cowboys, and rookie Isaac Guerendo had a good showing himself.
However, getting back the reigning AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year and NFL rushing champion should not be taken lightly.
McCaffrey’s nose for the end zone, his dual-threat ability to run and catch the ball out of the backfield and just his overall game has been pivotal in the 49ers’ offensive production and success since he arrived in the Bay Area via trade with the Carolina Panthers during the 2022 season.
For now, CMC is not back just yet, but he is one giant leap closer.
