FRISCO, Texas -- As Dak Prescott enters his 11th season with the Dallas Cowboys, he stands as the longest-tenured player on the team. He has gone from unheralded fourth-round pick in 2016 to locker room sage in 2026, and now, the Cowboys' franchise quarterback is set to turn 33 just days into training camp next month.
"It feels like yesterday at times," Prescott said, "and then you're watching cutups or clips from maybe plays back then, and I look at myself and realize even the way I looked or the way I'm playing the game, it feels like a long time ago from that standpoint."
As Prescott has gained perspective, he has not lost the passion. At one moment during team stretching drills, he can dance along with the music along with some teammates. At others, he can talk over a missed adjustment with a tight end or talk trash with a defensive teammate after completing a pass, even if it is only a voluntary organized team activity in the second week of June.
Despite the time on task in his career, Prescott would not think about missing a day of work. This offseason, his individual focus is on improving his footwork and his overall offensive focus is on upgrading the red zone work.
"I'm a big believer in you're getting better or you're getting worse," Prescott said. "When I walk in these doors, I'm just trying to be very intentful for anything and everything that I do. Obviously being this far in, not just me, but leading the other guys and making sure they understand how valuable these reps are, how valuable it is getting to be around each other this time of year, investing in each other, investing in our brotherhood and the culture that we're trying to build. This is the time of the year that we're going to get to hang around outside of the facility the most."
This year's first first-round pick, Caleb Downs, was 12 years old when Prescott was a rookie.
Their age gap might be large, but Prescott and Downs recently golfed together. It was a chance for the rookie and veteran to get to know each other, although Downs' game caught the quarterback's eye.
"He's pretty good, impressed me," Prescott said.
He was not afraid to admit Downs beat him.
"A couple strokes," Downs said.
But between drives and putts, Downs made sure to talk football. Considering how Downs will have to work against tight ends, he and Prescott discussed what he likes when he looks toward his tight end, Jake Ferguson.
"It's just good for me to be around vets like that that have a lot of experience," Downs said.
Backup quarterback Sam Howell said he grew up watching Prescott. Left tackle Tyler Guyton joked that he was in middle school when Prescott first started.
Sometimes the generational gap between players is too wide to close, but Prescott does not believe that.
"I was talking to somebody outside of the building, a leader in their workplace, and they were talking about getting older and relating to other people," Prescott said. "I said, 'It's on us to feel old,' and, 'It's on us to relate.' Like we can find something in common with each and every one of these people, but it's on us to approach them and to have those conversations. So, yeah, if they just tell me, '10 years, this and that,' yeah I feel old. But I get to 'What have you done the last 10 years?' Find out where they're from, how many brothers and sisters they have, what their parents do. There's always commonality and you can find it.
"For me, it's just doing that and then that allows me to relate to them and that makes them feel free, feel comfortable, and they can bring anything up to me."
Prescott already owns several team records and can add most touchdown passes in Cowboys history with six more. Tony Romo is the current leader with 248.
He knows none of that matters as much as winning. He has said it every year as he has tried to match what Roger Staubach and Troy Aikman did by delivering a Super Bowl.
He is not the only highly thought of quarterback to not have a championship, but he has been at it longer than Buffalo's Josh Allen (eight years), Baltimore's Lamar Jackson (eight) and Cincinnati's Joe Burrow (six). Burrow has played in a Super Bowl. Allen and Jackson have played in conference championship games. Prescott has yet to get past the divisional round.
"If you play this position, I've said it before ... how you're judged is winning that last game," Prescott said. "Anything other than that, you're warranted to get [the criticism] because you've not won that game. If you're not wired that way and if it's not what pushes you, you should probably find a different job and a different position. I think we all feel the same and if I know those guys are like me, it's an obsession.
"So, yeah, it's about making sure that you give everything that you can to this team and give them the chance to do it."
