FRISCO, Texas – The Cowboys were on the field for the first time this offseason as a full team. Now, not all 91 players were participating due to previous injuries, as those players were off to the side fields rehabbing.
But that group did not include Dak Prescott, who missed the final 10 games of the season last year due to a hamstring injury that required surgery. No, Prescott wasn't just on the field, but he took the first-team snaps, which seemed to be a surprise to many who thought he would be more limited this offseason.
Prescott discussed his health, the addition of George Pickens and more topics from the locker room on Tuesday.
"Feeling Great" – When asked if Dak felt behind other years in his offseason prep, the quarterback smirked and reminded the media that his offseason started much earlier than other years because of his injury. And maybe that's why he was on the field and able to do more than expected. "I think I'm just not cleared for contact, which we've got a while for that anyway. So yeah, I'm out there and the team activities feel good. Just trying to obviously stay that way. Yeah, feeling great."
Culture Club – So much has been made of Brian Schottenheimer and the changes he's making in the locker room, on the field and just about everywhere else to change the culture. Dak agreed with the question and seemed to enjoy the new look. "He's doing a hell of a job. Great job in building the culture. You're going to see him around weight room, the field, the locker room, preaching about competing every day, but not only that, we're doing it in team meetings, competing at practice, and that's the part about today's practice, right, is that fine line of competing but doing it smart and being disciplined about it. He's just doing a hell of a job building the culture and in a sense, starting over and understanding that, yeah, we do have to do it from the ground up and it's been fun."
A "Huge" Addition – Dak knew something was up when he got several calls from Jerry Jones' office last week. When he finally got on the phone with the owner, he could not only hear the excitement in his voice about the trade for George Pickens, but it was matched by Dak. "Huge. Huge, yeah, very huge. I mean just look at that guy's tape, you see what he does, the kind of receiver that he is, he's going to win a one-on-ones. He can win 2 vs. 1 if he has to. Very, very talented guy when you can add him alongside of CeeDee and the rest of the weapons that we have … I'm super excited."
Keeping Everyone Happy – With two receivers who view themselves as No. 1 targets, it's not always easy feeding them the ball on a regular basis. Dak was asked about the challenge of keeping both CeeDee and Pickens happy with the amount of targets. "Yeah, I mean I think it's understanding with them upfront maybe, 'hey, there are going to be some games and maybe one or the other … It's tough, right? And that's the beauty of having you two guys is I don't know if it'll ever be tough for both of you, but in that instance those are two unselfish guys and truly they want to win. And when you're not winning and you're not getting the ball, trust me, I understand the frustration, so I'm never going to be mad at them for frustrating about wanting to win and wanting the ball. So it's communication, it's the relationship that we're building and we'll continue to build, whether it's amongst me and GP or CeeDee."
