Dak Prescott’s emotions wavered over the past two days, ending with the Cowboys" 31-16 victory against the Las Vegas Raiders to close out the preseason on Saturday.
Prescott enjoyed calling plays and directing an offense that put up 457 yards and 28 first downs, expressed disappointment for teammate Will Grier, whose time with the Cowboys is about to end with the acquisition of Trey Lance from the San Francisco 49ers to be the No. 3 quarterback.
“I can"t say that I necessarily expected [a heads-up], no," Prescott said. “I understand though that that"s business. I understand that they"re probably on a timeline, they need to get something done. He felt like that strengthened this team and, yeah, ready to welcome [Lance] and, yeah, I mean knowing the strength of the quarterback room that we have. Honestly, right now, my heart and my mind are with Will. So it"s a tough situation, honestly. Love that guy to death over there. Plays his ass off, comes in, prepares, the right way each and every day."
When asked if he was surprised by the trade for Lance, who got picked up for a 2024 fourth-round pick, he said:
“You"ve been in this league eight years, been on this team."
“It"s hard to say that I was surprised, to be honest with you."
Prescott revealed he crossed paths with Lance during a marketing event in 2021 before Lance was picked No. 3 overall by San Francisco.
“I mean obviously understand it"s a business," Prescott said. “That"s a first-round talent and you"re always trying to make your team better. But that was the front office, so we"re going to welcome him as we do any teammate and hopefully, he just makes us better. We"re going to continue to get back at it and know that we"ve got one goal as a team."
Prescott is signed through 2024, and the Cowboys have mentioned the desire to sign him to an extension, which executive vice president Stephen Jones reiterated Saturday. Whether the addition of Lance gives the Cowboys any leverage is not a concern to Prescott.
“I"m going to leave those talks in the office where business is handled," Prescott said.
Coach Mike McCarthy approached Prescott about calling plays against the Raiders. McCarthy has a history of giving responsibilities to a different assistant coach for the final preseason game.
“When I got the phone call, I called Will immediately," McCarthy said. “I just asked him to go out there and play his ass off tonight. It was a great opportunity, and the team rallied around him, and I"m just so proud of him."
Prescott took no credit.
“I"ve been around for a while, so I kind of understand the flow, understand what you"re trying to get," Prescott said. “Knowing the quarterback, knowing what he"s good at knowing what he wants to do I think is a huge part of it. I give credit to that as much as I call a couple of plays. That guy played his ass off, and anytime a quarterback plays like that, it doesn"t matter who"s calling the plays."
He downplayed his impact even more.
“It"s preseason football," Prescott said. “Those guys gave us three coverages on the other side. I"m not going to sit here on my high horse like I just called the Super Bowl or something. It was a game and it was fun. It was fun to do and it was fun to experience that."
McCarthy was pleased with Prescott"s showing and believes it will help the quarterback"s preparation for the regular season.
