Dak Prescott has yet to clear his latest injury hurdle -- this time, a calf strain -- but he'll get the whole week to attempt to do so.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Wednesday that Prescott would work through individual periods of Dallas' practice, and then he would be evaluated further as the session transitioned to team periods. Perhaps most importantly: Wednesday would not determine Prescott's status for the Cowboys' Week 8 game against the Minnesota Vikings, per McCarthy.
Prescott was officially limited in Wednesday's session.
The goal would be to test Prescott's progress without pushing him and risking a setback, McCarthy said. Dallas is preparing backup Cooper Rush with additional first-team reps in the event Prescott cannot play.
"We don't want this to be a week-to-week situation," McCarthy explained, via USA Today's Jori Epstein.
McCarthy has experience with this type of situation, having seen Aaron Rodgers manage a calf strain during the 2014 season. Prescott suffered the injury in Dallas' comeback win over the New England Patriots in Week 6, and he had the benefit of a Week 7 bye to rest and recover.
McCarthy and the Cowboys' medical staff have set a threshold for recovery that Prescott must clear in order to be able to play Sunday, and ramping up toward that threshold with limited participation in practice seems to be the best way of achieving that goal.
"He's going to practice, he's going to go through individual, he's in the game plans, he’s preparing to play," McCarthy said. "But he's got to cross the threshold to make sure he's full go."
Prescott will get two more days of work to prove he's ready to play with minimal risk.
