OXNARD, Calif. — Dak Prescott will not tell the Dallas Cowboys who should back up the interior of their offensive line. He said Thursday he is watching for something other than technique.
Prescott was asked how the competition is shaping up with two preseason games left.
“Trust the people that make those decisions, ultimately at the end of the day, the guys that are making those decisions that matter,” Prescott said. “And I know I have an impact on that and can say this and can say that, but I just want to see guys fight. I want to see guys fight, especially up there in that interior or anywhere on the offensive line, fight like their lives depend on it.”
Prescott said the tell often comes after a rep goes badly.
“When you see that, that jumps off. When other guys aren’t doing that, that jumps off the tape of who it really matters to, who really cares,” Prescott explained. “And sometimes it’s the body language after a bad play. And it’s those type of things that I’m looking at that make me feel comfortable to get behind a guy and to go to war with a guy like that and understanding that he’s got my back.”
Prescott does not take snaps with the group he was being asked about. He has not played in a preseason game since 2019, and Brian Schottenheimer said Aug. 3 that Dallas plans to hold most of its starters out of all three exhibitions.
Asked About Four Names, He Answered On Three
The question named Nick Leverett, Trevor Keegan, T.J. Bass, and Nate Thomas.
“Those three alone, they’re going to fight. Those three alone, each and every day, trust me, you watch this practice and you can tell it’s for their life,” Prescott said. “I wouldn’t dare make a comment one to the other right now, especially so much time and everything that they have to prove and really with how well that they’re playing. That’s not my job to make those decisions.”
Prescott said his job is the opposite of choosing.
“For me, it’s about giving those guys confidence,” Prescott continued. “Because whichever one it is or whichever couple it is, I want him to have as much confidence as there is in the world that he can do his job and that I trust him in doing his job. We have to work together, and I’ll make him better.”
The Second Team Got Rearranged After Seattle
Dallas started Thomas at left tackle, Bass at center, Ajani Cornelius at right guard, and Drew Shelton at right tackle in the preseason opener. Bass played 7 snaps before Leverett replaced him. Thomas played 22 before Marcellus Johnson came in. Keegan, Cornelius, and Shelton each played 45.
Shelton allowed 3 pressures and 2 quarterback hits and finished with a 34.5 Pro Football Focus grade, the lowest of any Dallas lineman.
The Cowboys reshuffled the group for Monday’s practice. From left to right it was Shelton, Keegan, Leverett, Bass, and Thomas, which moved Leverett to center.
Who These Players Are
Bass has become the first interior lineman Dallas turns to. He took over the backup center job from Brock Hoffman, and the Cowboys have used him at guard as well. Dallas signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon, and he is in his third season.
Leverett is 29 and in his fifth season. Tampa Bay signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Rice in 2020, and he has 22 career games with 11 starts. He spent time with New England and Arizona before Dallas signed him to the practice squad in November.
Keegan was a fifth-round pick of Philadelphia in 2024 out of Michigan and won Super Bowl LIX as a rookie. Dallas acquired him last year. A neck injury ended his 2025 season in October.
Thomas was a seventh-round pick of the Cowboys in 2024 out of Louisiana and missed his entire rookie season. Schottenheimer has him competing with Tyler Guyton at left tackle.
The starting five is Guyton, Tyler Smith, Cooper Beebe, Tyler Booker, and Terence Steele.
Dallas plays at the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday and holds open practices at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco on Aug. 25 and Aug. 26. The preseason ends against the New Orleans Saints at AT&T Stadium on Friday, Aug. 28, at 7 p.m. CT.
