Guess who’s back? The Dallas Cowboys return to the football field on Saturday, lining up against the AFC North’s Baltimore Ravens. With the regular season now less than three weeks away, the teams enter their second preseason contest, most likely effectively ending the primary preparation phase of training camp.

The Cowboys reported to Oxnard, CA in mid-July, then hit the field last week to open the exhibition season and play a football game for the first time in seven months. However, it’s been even longer for their franchise quarterback. Dak Prescott hasn’t suited up since November 3, 2024, when he left the game against the Atlanta Falcons with a season-ending hamstring injury. It took Prescott several months to get himself walking properly, and now that the games have arrived, is he ready to go?

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Physically, yes, he’s more than ready to go. Prescott is fully healed from that injury and has spent the entirety of training camp being a full participant. One would think that since it’s been so long since he has seen the field, and with the Week 1 opponent being the exceptionally good defense of the Philadelphia Eagles that Prescott would use the preseason to shake the rust off.

But he is not. Prescott will not play in this contest after head coach Brian Schottenheimer announced that Joe Milton III will once again start the contest.

The second-year QB struggled throughout much of his Cowboys debut against the Rams, only finding a rhythm midway through the fourth quarter of the opening exhibition. If he is to convince the Cowboys’ brass that he is a viable QB2 for the regular season, Saturday may be his final opportunity ahead of the 2025 season. Most teams are expected to only play the bottom of the roster in their final exhibitions, meaning even when Milton sees snaps next week, they won’t be as helpful in evaluating his readiness for the big stage.

Will Grier will get snaps behind Milton as Prescott watches.

This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Is Dak Prescott playing today? Injury news update for Cowboys QB