Dak Prescott will be adding a new piece of equipment to his helmet in 2020. Prescott was spotted sporting a visor during the team's Thursday training camp practice. Prescott plans to wear the visor during the 2020 season, but admitted the decision has nothing to do with the pandemic.
"Changing things up, I guess," Prescott said of his decision to wear a visor, via ESPN's Todd Archer. "I threw it on to see if I liked it, to see if I want to keep it. I've worn one before. It's nothing new, it's nothing different. Just gives you a little bit different feel for yourself. I like it."
Prescott is joining a small group of NFL starting quarterbacks who wear a visor on a regular basis. Among the league's starting quarterbacks who wear visors are Lamar Jackson, Cam Newton, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Patrick Mahomes is also known to occasionally wear a visor after landing an endorsement deal with Oakley in 2019. Jackson, the league's reigning MVP, recently announced that he has also inked a deal with Oakley.
While he does not regularly wear a visor, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has decided to wear a new face shield that was designed by the NFL and Oakley to help slow the spread of COVID-19. While the league wants every player to wear the face shield, the expectation is that the NFL will not make it mandatory. The first version of Oakley's face shield was made available to every NFL team when players arrived for the start of training camp. Oakley has already started working on an updated version as well.
Dr. Jeff Crandall, chairman of the NFL's Engineering Committee, said that Oakley received feedback from NFL players during their creation of the face shield.
"The player feedback was integral in coming up with this design," Crandall said. "(Oakley) would start with this design and say, 'Do you like this one better or this one? How's your field of view on this one?' At the end, they did have feedback from players. This was their choice for the players they've evaluated so far. I think each player is going to have an evaluation for themselves in terms of exactly how they favor one concept versus another."
Regardless of what he wears, the Cowboys are hoping that Prescott can pick up where he left off last season when he set career highs with 4,902 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes. Prescott has made an impression on his new coach, Mike McCarthy, whose previous work experience with quarterbacks includes time with Joe Montana, Alex Smith, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
"I'm very, very high on Dak Prescott," McCarthy said on NFL Network. "I think the best word to describe him would be that he's a natural. He's a natural football player. He plays the position with excellent command. His leadership comes off of a very natural platform … Really, just going through the hiccups that we're going through as an offense right now, it's seamless to him. He doesn't really blink at anything. I've been really impressed with Dak, and looking forward to a good future with him."