FRISCO -- Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott may not play in the preseason after all.
"If he doesn't play this week I won't play him in the fourth [preseason game]," head coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday. "To me, the fourth one is for the players competing for the roster spots."
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McCarthy has said all along that he'd like to get Prescott some work in the preseason, but things changed when the star quarterback strained the lat muscle in his right throwing shoulder earlier in training camp.
"There's no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play against Houston," McCarthy said.
Meanwhile, Prescott participated in team drills, albeit in a limited capacity on Monday night. The Cowboys are steadily increasing the quarterback's workload on his throws in an effort to get his shoulder back to full strength.
"The biggest thing is staying on course with his throwing," McCarthy said. "It's a plan of caution. We just really don't want to put him in a position where he can reinjure it."
Should Prescott not play in this Saturday's dress rehearsal vs the Texans, then the next start he'll make will be on Sept. 9 vs the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the season opener.
