Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott addressed the recent fights that broke out during camp this week.
When the Dallas Cowboys training camp featured not one but two brawls involving thrown punches, a litany of questions get posed to the team's fearless leader. These questions range from the simple — "Why are you guys fighting?" — to the more analytical — "What does this mean for the 2023 season?"
The fights that broke out at Cowboys practice this week didn't reach Tim Anderson-Jose Ramirez levels of tension, but they did result in a volcanic emotional spillage as seen in several other NFL teams' practices, too.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was asked to comment on the brawls that took place at this year's camp, and he naturally defended his teammates.
Prescott said he's no fan of seeing punches thrown at practice but did say the "passion" of this team bodes well for the upcoming season:
"It's a testament to what we've all put into this thing — what the offense has put in and the confidence that has grown, and the defense and who they believe that they are. It's been 10 padded practices and a lot of time going against one other is what that is. It means you're ready to play somebody else."
Yesterday, Sam Williams and Brock Hoffman got into the first scuffle in Oxnard during a practice rep, causing a full-field scrum. Then, Micah Parsons and Tyler Biadasz got chippy with one another as Parsons reportedly threw a punch at Biadasz after a play.
Dak Prescott on Cowboys practice brawls: 'Unleash your passion'
Prescott, who enters his eighth year in the NFL, helped to de-escalate the Parsons-Biadasz skirmish before it got too far on Wednesday. He noted that this year's training camp contained far more intensity than those of previous years, yet at the end of the day, the Cowboys were "family."
"Neither unit is [a little brother] and we're ready to go out there and play against other people."
In other words, the roots of this Cowboys squad run deep, and a few overly emotional outbursts aren't going to change the Cowboys' ability to compete in 2023.
Prescott's valiant words will pour more steam into the Cowboys' hype train as the team gets ready to play against actual opponents in meaningful games on September 10.
In the last four years, Prescott has only led Dallas to three playoff appearances, losing most recently to the 49ers in the NFC divisional round in 2022. Making a deep postseason run this year will take as much talent as it does mental toughness; the Cowboys already have the former covered, and they're still learning about the latter.