Cowboys holding QB Dak Prescott out of training camp practice with ankle soreness

OXNARD, California -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is unyielding when it comes to seeking out reps in practice in order to improve.

Coach Mike McCarthy said earlier in camp that Prescott's only wrongdoing is he works a little too much outside the team facility. That's why the Cowboys are being extra cautious with the quarterback Friday and holding Prescott out of practice a day after Dallas' joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams . The team is calling his absence precautionary as it is occurring because of ankle soreness. The quarterback suffered a compound fracture dislocation in his right ankle back in 2020, an injury that ended his season that year.

The 31-year-old wore a walking boot back in July while on a deep sea fishing trip in order to combat ankle soreness from sitting for a while in the boat.

"Honestly, I'm getting older. It was the same ankle that I snapped and had a nasty surgery on four years ago, so yeah a couple hard days of training, you get a little sore," Prescott said in July . "Then, you're going on a fishing trip, and you want to protect it and make sure things don't get worse. Literally, it is absolutely nothing. People are reaching, trying to make things that they aren't. I'm getting older, have to take care of my body. I have to be smart, and if I can take precautions and lessen something by putting on a boot, I'm going to do it. Sorry that I caused such a whirlwind."

In short, Prescott's absence isn't much to worry about, and even if he wasn't missing practice on Friday, he probably wouldn't be playing in Dallas' first preseason game on Sunday at the Rams regardless. McCarthy has never played Prescott in a preseason game since becoming the coach of the Cowboys in 2020.