Jerry Jones says Dak Prescott has to avoid taking hits as a runner

[Rowdy]

USA TODAY Sports

As the Dallas Cowboys were getting set to get run over by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on Tuesday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked about his thoughts on quarterbacks that can run in relation to his own quarterback in Dak Prescott.

Jones, in an interview on 105.3 The Fan, acknowledged there are positives that it brings to a team having a quarterback that can move and run to help fuel an offense. However, Jones worries that Prescott taking hits will lead to him being hurt and therefore unavailable to play.

“I always handicapped to some degree Dak because of the fact that he’s so effective and has been in his career running, in the running game, and his ability to take it down and get the big play and get the yards,” Jones said. “I’ve always known that he couldn’t do that like that for long in the NFL. You can’t do that. [Troy] Aikman had a lot of mobility when he first came in his first couple of years, and, boy, that stopped quickly and we got to where we had trouble just with his mobility period around the pocket. You can’t count on that.”

It likely doesn’t help that the last memory of Prescott on a field for the Cowboys saw his ankle turned in the wrong direction after being tackled at the end of a quarterback draw.

“Now, when you say ‘handicap,’ no, it’s just a part of the game that we’re not going to be able to figure in,” Jones continued. “You look at some quarterbacks that are built with it and have done good with it. The quarterback in Seattle [Russell Wilson] is the best I’ve ever seen at sustaining success with his mobility. But he sure is good at it, and he sure has gotten, if you notice him, boy, he just does not get hit with a lot of impact. And, so, Dak can do that. Dak will do that, and he can evolve to where he just will take less and less hits. And he has to or else we won’t have him to play.”

Prescott isn’t a prolific rushing threat like Jackson or Kyler Murray, but he does have the ability to run when necessary. However, he’s only had more than 60 carries in a season once, which came in 2018. Wilson has never had a season with fewer than 67 attempts and already has 68 through 12 games this season as a comparison.

Given the way the 2020 season has unfolded for the Cowboys, it’s understandable Jones doesn’t want to lose his starting quarterback to avoidable injuries again. Prescott probably can look to get down and avoid taking hits a bit more often as well. But it may be a bit of an overreaction to one freak play to assume Prescott has to drastically alter his playing style moving forward.