Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott will miss Sunday night's game against the Minnesota Vikings with a strained right calf, the team says.
Cooper Rush will make his first NFL start in Prescott's place.
Prescott injured the calf on the final play of Dallas' win over the Patriots in New England two weeks ago. The Cowboys had a bye last week and the initial thinking seemed to be that two weeks off would give Prescott enough time to heal for the Minnesota game.
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Prescott went through his normal pregame routine on the turf at U.S. Bank Stadium more than two hours before kickoff with Britt Brown, the team's director of rehabilitation. He showed no obvious signs of limitation, but the message from the Cowboys all week was caution to keep the soft tissue issue from lingering.
After losing Prescott to a broken and dislocated right ankle in the fifth game of the 2020 season, the Cowboys are determined to avoid another long-term absence. Prescott became the first player in Cowboys history with four straight games with three or more touchdown passes against the Patriots.
Rush, 27, latched on with the Cowboys in 2017 as an undrafted project out of Central Michigan. He has appeared in six career regular season games in mop-up duty. He has attempted just three passes, all in his rookie year.
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Also inactive for the Cowboys were four reserves: wide receiver Simi Fehoko, offensive lineman Matt Farniok, defensive end Azur Kamara and safety Israel Mukuamu.
For the Vikings, defensive tackle Michael Pierce (elbow) was the lone starter on the inactive list. Also out were wide receiver/punt returner Dede Westbrook (ankle), defensive end Patrick Jones II (knee), guard Wyatt Davis, linebacker Chazz Surratt and quarterback Kellen Mond.
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