With Ezekiel Elliott staring at a six-game suspension pending the result of an appeal, Dak Prescott will be asked to do more, but maybe not run more in 2017. If Elliott is out, the Cowboys will rely on their tailbacks Darren McFadden, Rod Smith and Alfred Morris to make up for the absence of last season's leading rusher.
"He's going to run anyway because of his game, his mobility, but I think you're going to lean on the side of picking your times when you do it," offensive coordinator Scott Linehan said of Prescott. "I think if you do it a lot it certainly can be a little bit of a distraction to what you're trying to do. That's why you have runners. But when a quarterback has that element, it's an advantage. So I think the key to quarterbacks running is they know what kind of a run we're trying to get. If they can’t get 3 yards and we want 4 yards, 3 yards is OK, too. Don't take hits. That's my approach anyway."
The story said Prescott running the ball won't become a staple of the Cowboys' offense, even with Elliott scheduled to miss six games. They don't want to risk Prescott to injury even if he is 6-foot-2, 238 pounds. During training camp, Prescott has broken off a few long runs in the zone-read.
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