(Editor’s Note: Time to check the mail! The DallasCowboys.com staff writers answer your questions here in ‘Mailbag’ presented by Miller Lite.)
Dak Prescott is going to be 33 years old before next season. What does his window look like now? How much time in his prime does he have left? – Isaac Varela*/Amarillo, TX*
Nick: Always a tough question to answer because we’ve seen cases of players that seem like they have several years left but when it ends, it ends quick. With Dak, you obviously hope that’s not the case and it doesn’t seem like he’s anywhere close to slowing down. In fact, he’s coming off one of his best seasons.
One thing I’ve always said about Dak is that he needs to return to “football player” mode and less quarterback. Yes, he’s a quarterback and always will be, but the mindset needs to be more like a football player that will run, jump, slide, dive, hurdle, spin and even somersault if he has to, to get the needed yardage. We hadn’t seen that much lately but it returned this year. It’s not like he set the world on fire with his legs, but he ran enough to be about average for his career in terms of rushing yards (177) and rushing TDs (2).
But to answer the question, it’s going to come down to his health moving forward. He does a great job of getting his body right in the offseason and let’s see what happens this year now that he has a full offseason to train and not rehabbing another injury. But I think he’s got 2-3 really good years like this and maybe 5 if he can avoid the major setbacks.