Dak vs. Deshaun? Cowboys & Texans Reveal NFL Preseason QB Plans

Said McCarthy: “There’s no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play (Saturday). ... His volume of throwing leading up to that point, he’s probably in midseason form just from the amount of work he put in over the summer.”

FRISCO - One Pro Bowl quarterback is fighting to get on the field. The other is fighting to get out of town.

Dallas Cowboys QB is practicing here right now at The Star in Frisco's Ford Center, on a "limited basis,'' as he ramps from a shoulder strain in his shoulder/back from two weeks ago. Prescott, fully recovered from the 2020 season-ending ankle injury, has been planning to play in Saturday's NFL preseason visit from the Houston Texans at AT&T Stadium.

But Dallas coach Mike McCarthy tapped the brakes on that a bit on Monday before the evening workout. He called it a "plan of caution'' and said if Prescott doesn’t play on Saturday vs. Texans, he won’t play this preseason. (Dallas has one more preseason game, at home against Jacksonville.)

“If he doesn’t play this week, I won’t play him in the fourth game,” McCarthy said.

READ MORE: Dak 'Throwing Heat' ... and MRI Results on Dak 'All Good'

Continued McCarthy: “There’s no urgency from my perspective to see Dak play (Saturday). ... His volume of throwing leading up to that point, he’s probably in midseason form just from the amount of work he put in over the summer.”

Meanwhile, in Houston, Watson did not participate in the Texans' camp workout. While he had missed five practices earlier in training camp due to calf and ankle tightness, this absence is, as much as anything about his complicated situation in Houston, where he is both under scrutiny as he faces multiple charges of sexual misconduct and is also seeking a trade.

“Nothing has changed from last week,” Texans coach David Culley said Monday afternoon. "We’re not going to talk about what we do in personnel each day in practice. We haven’t done that all fall, so we’re not gonna do that.”

Watson is facing 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints being investigated by the Houston Police Department. He is listed fourth on the depth chart behind starter Tyrod Taylor, backup Jeff Driskel and rookie Davis Mills.

On Saturday, Watson does not want to play for Houston against the Cowboys, and surely will not. Meanwhile, Prescott does want to play in that game - but according to McCarthy doesn't really need to.