Cowboys QB Dak Prescott (calf) will not play vs. Vikings – The Dallas Morning News

MINNEAPOLIS — Dak Prescott could have played Sunday evening. No doubt.

That doesn’t mean he should, the Cowboys decided.

They made their star quarterback inactive against the Minnesota Vikings despite an impressive pregame workout. Neither cartwheels nor somersaults would have put Prescott in a uniform. Before the team’s arrival to U.S. Bank Stadium, it already concluded Prescott needed to further rest his Oct. 17 calf strain.

Several factors brought that belief.

For one, calf strains are inherently temperamental. Aggravations can occur, and the Cowboys and Prescott sought to avoid an extensive absence. This is also a long season, just Week 8 of 18 for a franchise with Super Bowl aspirations.

The strain, suffered on a touchdown pass in an overtime win over the New England Patriots, occurred on the same leg as Prescott’s open ankle fracture and dislocation from last October. Prescott told reporters on Thursday that he believes the injuries were related.

“I want to be smart about it and cautious,” Prescott said.

Prescott received a platelet-rich plasma injection to his calf Tuesday, sources said. His backup Cooper Rush handled all of the Cowboys’ first-team reps in practice on Wednesday and Thursday as Prescott rehabbed, his only team reps taking place in walkthroughs.

On Thursday, the 28-year-old ramped up the rehab.

He felt the effects on Friday, reporting soreness to the team, coach Mike McCarthy said. While Prescott pushed through his rehabilitation, he mourned the Thursday death of his maternal grandmother, Margaret Ebarb. He spent much of Friday east of Houston with family, being spotted around town in Orange and Winnie.

Prescott traveled with the Cowboys to Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon.

Before he sat on that plane, it likely was decided he would sit Sunday. The Cowboys pushed a narrative that a pregame workout would sway them, but that almost certainly was nothing more than a smokescreen the Vikings from knowing Rush would make his first NFL start.

Prescott would have played Sunday if the game was in mid-January.

He would’ve played if the Cowboys were clawing for a playoff berth in December.

But Dallas entered Sunday’s game with a 5-1 record and commanding lead in the NFC East. The Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) sat in second at 3-5 while the New York Giants (2-5) and Washington Football Team (2-6) followed.

So, it will be Rush’s ball.

Several family members, including his parents and brothers, flew to Minnesota for the game. Rush entered the NFL in 2017 but has thrown three career regular-season passes. No. 3 quarterback Will Grier was elevated to a backup role, being active for the first time this season.

At the end of Prescott’s pregame workout, all three quarterbacks threw passes sequentially.

Rush went first, Prescott lobbing him a football before each throw. Grier followed. Then went Prescott. If any question remained, the Cowboys submitted their inactive report at 5:50 p.m.

Prescott’s name was on it.

“It is more than just this one game,” Prescott said Thursday. “I don’t want this to linger past this week. [The calf is] something I want to nip in the bud, make sure I’m healthy and ready to go, so I don’t think about it when playing and we’re not having these conversations past today.”

Ultimately, the Cowboys agreed.

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