Cowboys' Jerry Jones Says Dak Prescott's Mental Health Comments Show Leadership

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones praised quarterback Dak Prescott on Friday for coming forward about suffering from anxiety and depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the death of his older brother Jace in April. 

According to ESPN's Ed Werder, Jones said the following about his franchise quarterback on 105.3 The Fan: "Dak's willingness to be transparent and share his difficult times and share it with such stature and class—it just, you always go back to that word 'leadership.'"

Prescott said Thursday that he sought help for anxiety and depression during the offseason, per ESPN's Todd Archer:

"When you have thoughts that you've never had, I think that's more so than anything a chance to realize it and recognize it, to be vulnerable about it. Talked to my family, talked to the people around me simply as I did at the time. Some of them obviously had dealt with it before, was able to have those conversations and then reach out further just to more people. I think being open about it and not holding those feelings in was one of the better things for me."

Prescott is set to enter his fifth season as the Cowboys' starting quarterback in 2020 after signing his franchise tender during the offseason.

Prescott shared his experiences and discussed Jace in an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger released Wednesday.

Per Archer, Prescott further explained Thursday how the COVID-19 quarantine played a role in his mental health struggles and prompted him to reach out:

"I'm a people person. I'm somebody that likes to be around people. I like to inspire. I like to put a smile on people's faces, day in and day out, and I like to lead. When that's taken away from you simply because you're forced to quarantine and not be around people and get around people as much as you would like to, yeah, it's tough.

"As I explained, it creates new emotions. Emotions that I've never felt before but obviously dealt with. And I obviously got the help that I needed and was very open about it. I think that's why I was fortunate to get over it, as not all are. As I've said before, I don't want to sit here and dwell on the things that were a struggle for me when I know I'm very fortunate and blessed and other people have it much more worse. But just to be transparent about it, that even in my situation, emotions and those type of things, can overcome you if you don't do something about it."

The upcoming season is shaping up to be the biggest one of Prescott's career, as expectations are high for him and the Cowboys as a whole, and a strong individual performance could help net him one of the biggest contracts in NFL history.

Although the Cowboys struggled to an 8-8 record and missed the playoffs last season, Prescott had a career year statistically with 4,902 passing yards and 30 passing touchdowns to go with 11 interceptions.

Prescott will have pressure to perform well for himself and his team again in 2020, especially since he is surrounded by one of the best supporting casts in football, including running back Ezekiel Elliott and wide receivers Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb.

Jones clearly has a great deal of respect for Dak, and if the 27-year-old signal-caller lives up to his potential in 2020, one can only assume that the Cowboys owner will reward him with a massive new deal.