Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will be returning on Thursday night as the Cowboys travel to Tampa Bay to battle the world champion Buccaneers in the season opener.
Prescott, 28, will play his first game after he suffered a compound fracture and dislocation to his right ankle in Week 5 against the Giants last October.
In the offseason, the six-year veteran signed a four-year deal with the Cowboys worth $160 million, so the hope for Dallas is that he can be the quarterback he was before the injury.
The quarterback Prescott will be facing on Thursday night, Tom Brady, knows very well what it’s like to miss significant time due to an injury. For Brady, that was 2008 when he suffered a torn ACL in Week 1 against the Chiefs that caused him to miss the rest of that season.
On Tuesday, Brady discussed what it felt like for him coming back from a significant injury.
“I think we kind of feel invincible at times, especially playing a really physical sport,” Brady said. “I think the one thing about getting injured is that we’re not invincible. I think you have a different perspective when you come back. Sometimes, you’re really disappointed when you lose games. It’s more disappointing when you don’t get to play in games. I’d rather play and lose than not play at all, as crazy as that sounds. If you’re not playing, then it means you’re at home, and I remember that was a tough year just sitting and watching all my teammates. I mean a pretty conscious decision that I was going to do everything I could at that point to stay as healthy as I could my entire career.”
Before the injury, Prescott was playing well and led the league in passing yards, and Brady expects Prescott to be the same player he was before the injury.
“Last year, he played, I don’t know, four or five games and had a great four or five games,” Brady said. “He’s a really talented player. Really since the day he came into the league, he’s shown to be a great leader for the team. We’re just expecting him to play like Dak Prescott does – very talented, loose in the pocket, throws a good ball, they have a lot talented skills players.”
When asked what advice he has for young quarterbacks, Brady offered up his book, The TB12 Method: How to Achieve a Lifetime of Sustained Peak Performance.
“I mean, I wrote a book on it,” he said. “I really did. It’s a good book too.”
Prescott got paid. Now, he can focus on staying healthy and leading the Cowboys to the playoffs and beyond, and if he’s right, the Cowboys very well could win the NFC East.
