Is Cowboys' Dak Prescott dealing with injury to repaired foot?

Eyebrows were raised when a photo recently shared on social media showed Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott wearing a protective boot on his right foot.

Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News revealed on Thursday afternoon that Prescott is dealing with a "foot sprain" that "isn’t serious." Watkins added that Prescott "has worn the boot for a week."

It's unclear when and how Prescott suffered this setback, as Dallas' two-day mandatory minicamp wrapped up on June 5. As of Thursday afternoon, it also wasn't known if Prescott will be slowed down in any way when the Cowboys hold their first training-camp practice on July 25.

The health of Prescott's right foot this summer is noteworthy for multiple reasons. He famously went down with a gruesome compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle in October 2020.

While Watkins mentioned that Prescott hasn't endured a second known injury to that foot/ankle since he had surgery, Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk noted that the 30-year-old missed one game in the fall of 2021 because of a right calf problem.

More importantly, Prescott is in the final year of a contract that includes a no-tag clause. There's no sign the two sides are close to coming to terms on any type of extension, but Watkins insisted that Thursday's update "doesn’t appear to impede" any progress regarding negotiations.

Prescott likely won't see many, if any, preseason snaps even if he's fully healthy come August, but his status could become an interesting topic if his foot sprain opens the door for 24-year-old signal-caller Trey Lance to get some work with the first-team offense.

Whispers have emerged suggesting at least some within the Cowboys want to see how Lance has developed since Dallas acquired the third overall pick of the 2021 draft from the San Francisco 49ers last summer.

Lance hasn't yet cemented himself as Dallas' full-time QB2 ahead of Cooper Rush, but logic suggests that Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will want the former San Francisco starter to play early and often in upcoming exhibition games.

With that said, Jones seemingly is counting on Prescott to be good to go for the Week 1 matchup at the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8.