Prescott misses practice with ankle soreness

OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott was held out of a light workout Friday as a precaution with the Dallas Cowboys quarterback experiencing mild soreness in his surgically repaired right ankle.

The decision came a day after Dallas held its only joint workout of training camp in a visit from the Los Angeles Rams. The Cowboys and Rams open the preseason against each other Sunday in LA.

Prescott, who likely won’t play in the preseason, is going into the final season of his $160 million, four-year contract but hasn’t missed any time in camp.

His top receiver, All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, is holding out while seeking a new contract with a year remaining on his rookie deal.

Prescott is now four years removed from the gruesome ankle injury he sustained in Week 5 in 2020. The 31-year-old was not wearing a protective boot as he watched the light practice in California.

Not long before the Cowboys reported for camp, a picture circulated on social media of Prescott wearing a boot while on vacation in Mexico. Prescott later said it was precautionary.

Prescott was the runner-up in NFL MVP voting last season after leading the NFL with a career-best 36 touchdown passes while throwing for 4,516 yards with nine interceptions.

The Cowboys made the playoffs with a 12-5 record for the third consecutive year but lost at home to Green Bay 48-32 as the No. 2 seed in the NFC. Dallas is the only team with three straight 12-5 playoff seasons but no trips to a conference championship game.

With Prescott out, Trey Lance who was drafted third overall, is already on his second team, and will finally play his first game for the Dallas Cowboys in their preseason opener on Sunday.

The countdown reflects the turbulence Lance has endured in his brief NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers and Cowboys, but he is treating the initial chance to show what he is still capable of in a game as just another day.

“Very excited, very excited, but really just truly trying to take it one day at a time,” Lance said. “I think as soon as you start to look ahead, that’s when you kind of start to get yourself in trouble.”

Even with that mindset, the 24-year-old Lance understands how important the next few weeks will be for his career given how unusual the past 365 days have been. He was in training camp with the 49ers at this time last year, and Lance played in their first two exhibition games before being traded to the Cowboys on Aug. 26.

Coming to a team with an established starter in Dak Prescott and backup in Cooper Rush allowed Lance to focus on learning a new system. The downside of having those two firmly locked into their roles above him left Lance with limited reps in practice when he needs all the live looks he can get.

Lance started 17 games in college at North Dakota State, and his final season was essentially scuttled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving him with one start as a redshirt freshman.