Dak Prescott might need to stay away from the Dallas Cowboys for a few more weeks dispute his improved health, Robert Griffin III has claimed.

Whenever you lose the face of your franchise, and even more so if that face is a quarterback, it’s natural to think that some doom and gloom might set in as you look to what might be something of a bleak couple of weeks or even months, and that’s exactly what the Dallas Cowboys were looking at after Week 1.

They had just lost their opening game of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, doing so without managing to score a touchdown in the process, the only team that failed to get into the endzone in Week 1, and looked to be in big trouble at quarterback with Dak Prescott suffering an injury to his thumb on his throwing hand.

That meant handing the role over to Cooper Rush, a quarterback who had only ever started one game in the NFL before and had attempted just 50 passes in total. But in a strange turn of events, things haven’t been too bad under his stewardship as the Cowboys won both of their two games since and are looking pretty decent overall, in large part thanks to the defense and running game stepping up.

In fact things have gone so well, there have been talks to suggest that the Cowboys could stick with Rush even when Prescott comes back from injury, something that owner Jerry Jones would seemingly be in favour of, hinting that a ‘quarterback competition’ would be good for the team as it would be a signal that the team are doing well.

Dak Prescott looking on track

Prescott’s return to the team could be coming sooner than we might have initially believed, as Jones stated recently that his recovery from the injury has been remarkable, with the only question being how long it will take him to get in game shape and up to the level of play that he was before the injury occured:

And it’s that last part that makes Robert Griffin III, someone who suffered through many injuries in his career and so has a pretty good understanding of what impact they can have on a quarterback, think that the Cowboys might need to be extra careful when it comes to getting Prescott back on the field.

Don’t put Dak straight on the attack 

Speaking on ESPN’s Get Up as part of a larger discussion about the Cowboys and their current situation, Griffin III pointed out that the team aren’t exactly running their offense through the quarterback right now, and so it would be wise of the Cowboys to give Prescott a little extra time to get ready before handing the ball back to him: 

This isn't about Cooper Rush. This is about those running backs in Dallas and their defense playing the way they are. If they can continue to do that, allow Dak to get healthy, they don't call it ‘grip it and rip it’ for no reason. If you can't grip the ball and throw it and feel comfortable, don't put him out there.

Talk of this is all well and good now, but when you look at who the Cowboys have beaten, the less than impressive Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Giants who whilst they were 2-0 are still rebuilding, the results shouldn’t necessarily be seen as a referendum to confirm that Rush is the man to take them forward, especially with games against the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles and reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams on the way.

So talk about sticking with what they have might need to wait just a little bit longer before we really establish what the Cowboys should do next.