September 10, 2020
Dak, on anxiety, depression after brother's suicide
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott sought help this offseason after experiencing anxiety and depression in the wake of his older brother Jace's death, as well as the coronavirus pandemic.
"When you have thoughts that you've never had, I think that's more so than anything a chance to realize it and recognize it, to be vulnerable about it," Prescott said, per ESPN's Todd Archer.
He added, "I think being open about it and not holding those feelings in was one of the better things for me."
Prescott was on "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" where he revealed that his brother died by suicide. He said Jace carried a heavy burden as the primary caregiver for their mother, Peggy, as she received treatment for colon cancer while Dak attended school at Mississippi State.
"Jace at the time was finishing with school and was home, was with her, and watched it," Dak said. "She couldn't necessarily hide it from Jace because he was there every day. He saw the times where she would have to spend probably 10-plus hours throwing up, this and that, and saw the medicine she had to take."
Peggy died in 2013, and Dak said the death of his mother had a huge impact on him and his two brothers, Jace and Tad.
Dak saw Jace three days before his death in April and thought everything seemed fine.
"I mean, obviously tears and tears and tears," Prescott said of learning of his brother's death. "I mean, I sat there and tried to gather what had happened, and wanted to ask why for so many reasons ... and as much as you want to ask why as much as this, I mean, I know my brother, and as we said, he had a lot of burdens on him."
Prescott said that he shared his feelings with close friends, current and former teammates, and a sports psychologist.
The quarterback also revealed how the coronavirus pandemic affected him.
"I'm a people person. I'm somebody that likes to be around people. I like to inspire. I like to put a smile on people's faces, day in and day out, and I like to lead," Prescott said. "When that's taken away from you simply because you're forced to quarantine and not be around people and get around people as much as you would like to, yeah, it's tough."
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September 6, 2020
Prescott: I believe I'll play for Cowboys 'the rest of my career'
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott believes he'll retire as a member of the Cowboys and he doesn't want his contract dispute to impact the team's locker room.
"I'm very optimistic. I plan on being a Cowboy for the rest of my career. ... As I talk about the team and how exciting this offense can be with the new coaching staff, how great this defense is going to be, and this team, in general. This is the place to be," Prescott said Friday on SiriusXM-NFL Radio.
Prescott is set to play the 2020 season under the franchise tag after the Cowboys failed to sign him to a long-term extension this offseason. Both parties can re-start negotiations after the upcoming campaign.
On August 13th, Prescott was quoted:
“My fire is burning, and my fire is big,” Prescott said. “You can throw whatever you want in there for it to burn and for it to get bigger. I don’t know if I’m necessarily trying to prove something to the Cowboys or to this team because I feel like everybody in this building, this organization, knows the player I am, knows the man that I am, knows where my heart stands. I just want to be great. And that’s what I do each and every day is just try to come in here and do the best that I can to take another step to being that.”
"We think he's outstanding," owner Jerry Jones said about Prescott on a video call prior to Prescott speaking. "We think he's our quarterback of the future. We just couldn't get together at this particular time."
Dallas' latest offer to the 26-year-old reportedly included $33 million to $35 million annually with more than $100 million guaranteed.
The Cowboys are fine with the franchise tag and honestly, Prescott should be too. If Prescott were to take on back-to-back-to-back franchise tags, he would make:
2020: $31.4M
2021: $37.7M
2022: $54.2M
Prescott is coming off the best statistical campaign of his career after setting personal highs in passing yards (4,902) and touchdowns (30) in 2019. However, the Cowboys posted an 8-8 record last season, their worst campaign since Prescott took over the starting role in 2016.
Prescott has led Dallas to the playoffs twice in four seasons. He's also won a playoff game. Last year, Prescott led the league in Football Outsiders' Defense-Adjusted Yards Above Replacement (DYAR) metric and finished fourth in Total QBR.
According to PFF, Prescott's 2019 passer rating on deep throws of more than 20 air yards (110.2) ranked seventh, and his adjusted completion percentage on deep throws, which factors in drops, was 52.6, which ranked second. Then there's this:
Needs Improvement
2019:
Most total dropped passes in NFL: Dallas, 46
Most dropped passes in NFL by percentage: Dallas, 7.6%
According to PFF, Prescott's 2019 passer rating on deep throws of more than 20 air yards (110.2) ranked seventh, and his adjusted completion percentage on deep throws, which factors in drops, was 52.6, which ranked second. Then there's this:
2019:
Most total dropped passes in NFL: Dallas, 46
Most dropped passes in NFL by percentage: Dallas, 7.6%
Endorsements
As a 2016 fourth-round pick, Prescott earned just $4 million total across the four-year span of his rookie deal, but he also rakes in millions in endorsements, in part because he's the quarterback of the Cowboys.
