Cowboys insider reveals why HC Mike McCarthy chose not to play Dak Prescott in preseason

Dak Prescott was among a number of Dallas Cowboys players who were not playing during the team's preseason opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, which ended in a narrow 28-23 defeat but had plenty of positives from young players who were trusted into a bigger playing time.

NFL starters playing in the preseason is always a big topic of discussion, with no absolute formula and each team devising its own strategy to prepare for the season. With the Cowboys, who are hoping to make a first Super Bowl appearance since 1995, there were no important players on the field.

After the game, head coach Mike McCarthy spoke to The Athletic's Jon Machota about the decision to rest Dak Prescott and the other stars of the team:

Could the Cowboys move on from Dak Prescott after the season?

Quarterback Dak Prescott is entering the 2023 season with plenty of pressure on his shoulders after his dip in performance last year, culminating in an awful elimination to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional round.

The calls for him to be replaced came in just as the Cowboys' season ended last year. But after the anger boiled down, it was clear that there was no way for Prescott to leave Dallas - not only because he's a great quarterback, but it would also be incredibly hard for the franchise to move him.

He's entering the third season on a four-year, $160 contract he signed before the 2021 season. He has a base salary of $31 million for 2023 while holding a cap hit of $49.1 million, which is the highest on the Dallas Cowboys roster and the third-highest in the entire league for 2023.

Dak Prescott will likely remain the franchise quarterback in Dallas for a long time. He's one of the best players in the league in the position, and if he hits the open market, there are going to be a dozen suitors ready to give him whatever he wants. Jerry Jones knows this, and he doesn't want to lose a great player.

The arrow is pointing up for him in 2023, with the arrival of Brandin Cooks to bolster even more a receiving group that already had CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.