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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott claimed there's "absolutely nothing" wrong with his ankle and reiterated that he recently wore a walking boot out of precaution due to soreness.
"Honestly, I'm getting older. It's the same ankle that I snapped and had a nasty surgery on four years ago," Prescott told reporters on Tuesday (June 9) via the Athletic's Jon Machota. "Couple of hard days of training and, you know, you get a little sore and you're going on a fishing trip and you want to protect it and make sure that things don't get worse. Literally, it's absolutely nothing. People are reaching, trying to make things that they aren't. I'm getting older. Have to take care of my body. Have to be smart. If I can take precautions and lessening something by putting on a boot, I'm gonna do it. So, sorry that it caused such a whirlwind."
Last week, Prescott, 30, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he was feeling "great" and wore the boot because "the last time I went deep sea fishing my (ankle) swole up." Several NFL insiders had reported that Prescott experienced an insignificant foot sprain but wasn't expected to be limited during training camp.
Prescott, 30, had previously dealt with an ankle injury in 2020, shoulder and calf injuries in 2021 and had a plate inserted into his thumb to stabilize the joint in 20222. The former Mississippi State standout is in the final year of a four-year, $160 million deal initially signed in 2021, which was reworked this offseason to create an additional $4 million in salary cap space.
Prescott and the Cowboys were reported to "have a mutual understanding of his contract situation" and a long-term offer hasn't been made, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported in March.
"I don't play for money. Never have never cared for it, to be honest with you, yeah," Prescott told reporters during the Cowboys' OTAs in May 22 via ESPN. "Would give it up just to play this game. So, I allow that to the business people to say what it's worth, what they're supposed to give a quarterback of my play, a person of my play, a leader of my play. For me, it's about, as I said, control what I can control and handle that part and the rest will take care of itself."
Prescott led all NFL quarterbacks with a career-best 36 touchdown passes and 410 completions, while also throwing for 4,516 yards -- third among all quarterbacks -- in 2023. The former Mississippi State standout finished second in the 2023 Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award voting with 152 points.