Cowboys likely to place Dak Prescott on IR, Jerry Jones says

The Dallas Cowboys will likely place quarterback Dak Prescott on injured reserve because of the hamstring injury he suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons, Jerry Jones said Tuesday.

The move would sideline Prescott for at least the next four games. The earliest he would be eligible to return would be a “Monday Night Football” game against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 14.

The Cowboys owner and general manager made his comments in his weekly appearance on 105.3 The Fan.

“It’s a long period here,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t dare make a prediction as to when that might be. We’ll see how his rehab goes.”

On Monday, coach Mike McCarthy was only prepared to say that Prescott would not play in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

A source had told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Monday that Prescott’s injury was expected to sideline the quarterback for several weeks.

Cooper Rush will take over as the starting quarterback starting this Sunday, with Trey Lance as his backup.

Since 2020, Prescott has missed games with a dislocation and fracture of his right ankle, a right calf strain and a broken right thumb.

Rush went 4-1 as the Cowboys’ starter in 2022 after Prescott suffered a thumb injury in the season opener. The Cowboys did not score more than 25 points in any of the Rush’s starts, but the defense allowed more than 20 points just once. His lone loss came against the Eagles when he was intercepted three times.

For his career, Rush is 5-1 as a starter.

“There’s no doubt that Dak’s injury is a setback,” Jones said. “But we’ve seen Cooper do it. We know what to do, the strategies on offense. We just have to go game by game, use all our players to the extent that it helps us.”

ESPN’s Todd Archer and The Associated Press contributed to this report.