The Dallas Cowboys are finally getting back on the field on Saturday, returning to action for the first time since January. The 2025 season is now just a distant memory as 2026's campaign is completely within focus as the NFL exhibition season gets into full swing. The Cowboys are actually one of the last two teams to get things started off with a late matchup against Mike Macdonald's world champion Seattle Seahawks.
This time last year, franchise quarterback Dak Prescott was itching to return from missing most of the previous season, suffering a catastrophic hamstring injury in 2024 that wiped out the last couple months of action. It took Prescott several months to get himself walking properly, but he had a full healthy season and enters the 2026 exhibition season with a clean bill of health.
But does that mean he's going to see action on Saturday?
How To Watch:Cowboys vs Seattle Seahawks, Saturday August 15 8 pm ET
With the injury far behind him, the questions turn to whether or not he'll get game action as part of his preparation for when the games truly count towards a playoff push. Prescott hasn't played in the preseason since the prior decade, and it does not appear that streak will end on Saturday. Earlier in training camp, head coach Brian Schottenheimer allowed that they group their players into four buckets, deciding how much action each would get through the three exhibition games:
- A+: Zero Snaps
- B+: 10-15 Snaps
- B-: 25-35 Snaps
- C: Unlimited Snaps
If anyone is a safe bet to be on the A+ category, it'd be the 11-year veteran Prescott.
Prescott's absence means that second-year QB Joe Milton III will get plenty of snaps, as will veteran free agent signing Sam Howell. The two are competing for the backup role and bring two distinct skill sets to the table. Prescott and the starters got their work in earlier in the week in a joint practice against the Los Angeles Rams.
The club has another joint practice scheduled for Tuesday, this time against former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and his New Orleans Saints. Unlike the practice at the Rams, this will be in Oxnard and there isn't expected to be a film blackout of the action. That will possibly be the only glimpse fans get of Prescott and other key players against the opposition before they kick off the regular season on Sunday Night Football against the New York Giants, September 13.
Cowboys preseason schedule
- at Seattle Seahawks, Saturday, Aug. 15, 7 pm CT
- at Arizona Cardinals, Saturday, Aug. 22, 9 pm CT
- vs New Orleans Saints, Friday, Aug. 28 at 7 pm CT
Cowboys regular season schedule
Week 1: at New York Giants - Sunday, Sept. 13 (8:20 p.m. ET)
Week 2: vs Washington Commanders - Sunday, Sept. 20 (4:25 p.m. ET)
Week 3: vs Baltimore Ravens - Sunday Sept. 27 (4:25 p.m. ET) at Maracana Stadium, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
Week 4: at Houston Texans - Sunday, October 3 (1 p.m. ET)
Week 5: vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Thursday, October 8 (8:15 p.m. ET)
Week 6: at Green Bay Packers - Sunday October 18 (8:20 p.m. ET)
Week 7: at Philadelphia Eagles, October 26, MNF, (8:15 p.m.) ET
Week 8: vs Arizona Cardinals, November 1 (1 p.m. ET)
Week 9: at Indianapolis Colts, November 8 (1 p.m. ET)
Week 10: vs San Francisco 49ers, November 15 (4:25 p.m. ET)
Week 11: vs Tennessee Titans, November 22 (1 p.m. ET)
Week 12: vs. Philadelphia Eagles, November 26 (4:30 p.m. ET)
Week 13: at Seattle Seahawks, Monday Dec. 7 (8:15 p.m. ET)
Week 14: BYE
Week 15: at Los Angeles Rams, December 20 (4:25 p.m. ET)
Week 16: vs Jacksonville Jaguars, December 27, SNF (8:20 p.m. ET)
Week 17: vs New York Giants, January 3, 2027 (1 p.m. ET)
Week 18: Washington Commanders, January 9/10 TBD
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Is Dak Prescott playing today? Injury news update for Cowboys QB