Let this sink in for a moment. It's game week to open the NFL season and the Dallas Cowboys are starting a rookie quarterback.
Dak Prescott wasn't one of the Cowboys' top quarterback options during the draft. They loved Carson Wentz, tried to trade up for Paxton Lynch and nearly drafted Connor Cook until they settled on Prescott in the fourth round. It looks like they got a draft steal.
Then he opened training camp third on the quarterback depth chart behind Tony Romo and Kellen Moore. Yet, here he is; the starting quarterback for America's Team.
"Everything I've been through, the obstacles, to sit there and wait on draft day and wait for it actually to come. And then to come to the team you grew up watching. And then everything, just for the way things fell in place with Tony and Kellen [Moore], but I'm prepared and I believe I'm supposed to be here," said Prescott.
Obviously, starting a rookie QB was not in the Cowboys plans. However, young guns playing in year one is no longer unique. Half of the NFC East will start rookie quarterbacks in the opening game.
"There was a time when rookie quarterbacks never played in the NFL, regardless of when they were drafted. They always sat and watched. You know, that's changed and younger quarterbacks have been playing a lot lately," said head coach Jason Garrett.
"I've worked a long time, very, very hard, but there's a lot more I want to accomplish in my life and this is just another step," said Prescott.
