Brian Schottenheimer turns heads with bold Dak Prescott “developmental phase” claim in Cowboys' 2025 reboot

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys had a disappointing season last year. Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury, something that was one of many reasons why the Cowboys finished the season with a record of 7-10 and did not qualify for the playoffs.

This offseason, the Jerry Jones-owned Dallas franchise decided against bringing back Mike McCarthy as the team's head coach, subsequently promoting Brian Schottenheimer to the role after being the offensive coordinator for the past two seasons.

Prior to the disastrous 2024 season, Prescott became the highest-paid QB in the NFL in average annual value ($60 million per season). However, on Thursday, Schottenheimer made a shocking claim about Prescott, only a year after becoming the highest-paid player in football. 'Underdog NFL' posted the quote on X on Thursday.

"I think Dak is in the developmental phase. And that sounds crazy for a guy who's played that much, but there are things we're tweaking with Dak," Schottenheimer said.

While NFL players are constantly working on their game during the offseason and looking to improve on areas of the game where they struggled the year before, Schottenheimer's comments sound like much larger changes are going on. While it is unclear what those may be, it sounds as though there are more changes than just new head coach schematic changes taking place in Dallas.

Can Dak Prescott bounce back next season?

Prescott is already an elite QB in the NFL, despite the comments from Schottenheimer. He is only one season removed from when he had 4,516 passing yards, 38 total touchdowns and only nine interceptions. As a result, it seems premature to judge or make any conclusions about Prescott or the Cowboys after one injury-filled season.

Dallas' offensive unit is also expected to be much better next season with the arrival of star wide receiver George Pickens. For the first time in his career, Prescott has a second elite receiving option, something that should help free up CeeDee Lamb against double teams and make Prescott feel more comfortable and in control against opposing defenses.