Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott takes the field for the first practice of training camp on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott’s decision to wear a Super Bowl shirt on the flight to training camp may have drawn headlines, but it wasn’t exactly a new concept for the veteran quarterback. He’s always been on a mission to manifest.
“I said I would be the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys when I was 6 years old,” Prescott said on Thursday. “I said I would be in the NFL, and I got here. A lot of things I said I’d do, I did it.”
There is one difference between the 6-year-old who dreamed of being the quarterback for the Cowboys and the one currently living that existence. Time isn’t exactly on his side. And he knows it.
Article continues below this ad
Prescott is entering his 11th season in the NFL. He turned 33 earlier this week, making him the fifth-oldest projected starting quarterback in the NFL. The fourth-round rookie who took the league by storm in 2016 is now the second-oldest player on the team behind 15-year veteran Bryan Anger.
Prescott admitted that he thought there would be more chances to go on deep playoff runs after he and the Cowboys finished that 2016 season. They went 13-3 that year and lost by a field goal in the divisional round against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
“We’ll get back here next year,” Prescott recalled thinking. “We’ll block the field goal, or we’ll score and not get in that situation and then you look up and seven, eight years later, you’ve been to the playoffs, you’ve lost some games, some tough games in some brutal ways, and then you get into last season and you think you can control a lot of it and you think your play is ultimately going to be the deciding factor, and I probably had the best year of my career [last year], and we’re not even a playoff team. And then you realize these chances, these opportunities to put teams together that can actually make a run, don’t come often.”
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott wears a vintage Cowboys with the phrase “CHAMPIONS” above the team’s logo paying tribute to the team’s Super Bowl XXX victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1996. as the team arrives for training camp on Monday, July 27, 2026, in Oxnard, Calif.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Prescott thinks this team can. He’s not the only one. Quinnen Williams, a new leader on the new-look defense, is confident that he can make the playoffs for the first time in his impressive career. Owner Jerry Jones, now 83, is so confident in this roster that he’s willing to make a “substantive” trade this season and use a future pick to do it.
Article continues below this ad
Jones is showing a willingness to be aggressive. He’s shown interest in urgency. It’s something Prescott appreciates at this point in his career.
“When the owner is doing it and it goes from the top to the bottom, why not? Life is about being urgent,” Prescott said. “A lot of us want to wait and say we’ll do it later, but what are we really promised? Whether it’s football or it’s life. So why not now?”
It’s the same question Prescott asked himself when he stumbled upon the Super Bowl XXX vintage shirt in his closet when he was packing for Oxnard. It’s been in his closet for years. He didn’t even know whether he bought it, or someone had gifted it, but it was there. He thought about wearing it on other road trips out of the year, but what good does a Super Bowl declaration do in Week 7, he wondered.
“It just felt right,” Prescott said.
His teammates appreciated the confidence.
Article continues below this ad
New Cowboys outside linebacker Rashan Gary: “That’s our leader, so if our leader believes that, we believe it too.”
Second-year right guard Tyler Booker: “To have somebody like the quarterback putting those things out there and manifesting, it just fires you up and it makes you want to match and raise his intensity.”
Prescott and the Cowboys know there’s still a long way to go. Prescott may have his end goal in mind, but he made it clear that it’s a process to get there. He also recently gave his offense a new mantra. To be G.O.T.I, or, the Greatest Offense There Is. That, too, won’t happen overnight.
“At the end of the day, it’s about getting 1% better,” Prescott said.
But doing so in a hurry. Prescott and the Cowboys have three more years left on his current deal. Considering his rising cap numbers, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see that relationship extended. It’s also worth wondering how many years Prescott can retain a Pro Bowl level of play like he did last season. Prescott said last year he would like to play into his 40s, as long as he can sustain a high level of play.
Article continues below this ad
Those questions don’t exist now, however. That’s why Prescott is not shying away from manifesting his Super Bowl ambitions.
In his mind, there’s no time like the present to believe.