Dallas Cowboys: Will the calf strain stop the Rayne?

When the Dallas Cowboys take on the Minnesota Vikings for Sunday Night Football, there is concern they will be without their starting quarterback Rayne Dakota Prescott. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Prescott will try and see how he feels in warm-ups before the team makes a final decision.

Prescott playing truly comes down to a game-time decision. Before the Cowboy’s bye week, the star quarterback tweaked his calf on the game-winning touchdown to receiver CeeDee Lamb in overtime. Dallas had a perfectly timed bye. Without it, the consensus amongst media members is Prescott wouldn’t have played if they had a game in Week 7.

In a press conference this week, Prescott spoke on how if he would be ready to go against the Vikings.

"“In a sense, I don’t know if this is just my decision,” he said. “I’d play today if I could, but knowing this is a long journey and a long season, I can only keep getting better each and every day.”"

Unfortunately for fans, that doesn’t scream 100% confidence in his availability. Prescott is right. It is a long season, especially with the NFL adding an extra game this year. The last four out of five games for Dallas this season are against divisional opponents. Prescott needs to be playing in those games.

Calf injuries have a history of sticking around with quarterbacks. Remember when Aaron Rodgers injured his calf in 2014 before the playoffs? Sure, he played in the Divisional game against the Cowboys and won, but he was not the same player. Prescott said that if this were a playoff game, he would be playing, no question.

The reality is, it is only Week 8, and Dallas has a three-game lead in the division. If the medical staff decides to sit Prescott, they are focusing on the long-term health of their quarterback. Besides, the Cowboys did go into Minnesota last season and won with a backup quarterback. Anything is possible.