FRISCO, Texas (AP) — With Dak Prescott likely out at least four games in an anticipated move to injured reserve because of the star quarterback's strained hamstring, the Dallas Cowboys are still buyers.
Those were the words of owner and general manager Jerry Jones on his radio show Tuesday — trade deadline day — when he acknowledged the addition of Carolina receiver Jonathan Mingo without giving the name after updating the prognosis on his franchise QB.
“We’re not selling,” said Jones, whose team will give up a 2025 fourth-round draft pick and add a seventh-rounder in the trade with the Panthers. “We will make that case. We’re buying and not selling.”
Prescott sustained the injury in the second half of a 27-21 loss to Atlanta. The Cowboys (3-5) play NFC East rival Philadelphia (6-2) on Sunday, the second of four consecutive games against winning teams.
“It’s an extended period of time here,” Jones said. “I wouldn’t dare make a prediction when it could be. We’ll see kind of how his rehab goes.”
Cooper Rush will replace Prescott, just as he did when the Cowboys went 4-1 in 2022 after Prescott broke his thumb in a season-opening loss. Rush also won a game in 2021 filling in for the 2016 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and three-time Pro Bowler.
Prescott’s absence is another setback in a season full of them for the Cowboys, who are on their first three-game losing streak since 2020. Dallas played the last 11 games of that 6-10 season without Prescott after he broke an ankle.
“There’s no question that Dak’s injury is a setback,” Jones said. “But we’ve seen Cooper do it. We know what we need to do, the strategies on the offense. We just need to come together game by game, use all of our players to the extent that it helps us.”
The defending NFC East champions are already three games behind Washington and Philadelphia in the division. The Commanders (7-2) are part of the four-game stretch against winning teams.
The meeting with Washington is the only road game in the next five for Dallas, which is 0-3 at home. Assuming he ends up on IR, Prescott won't be available until the end of that five-game stretch Dec. 9 against Cincinnati.
Jones said he expected two-time All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to return against the Eagles after missing four games with a high ankle sprain. Coach Mike McCarthy expects Parsons to practice Wednesday for the first time since the injury.
The season debut should be close for All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland, who set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns last season. He had surgery for a stress fracture in his foot late in the preseason.
“We’re going to have to have it from within to get where we all want to go,” Jones said. “We’re going to have to do something that’s a storybook type of scenario. I’ve been a part of a couple of those. And it can happen.”
Mingo was a 2023 second-round pick by the Panthers, who are tied for the worst record in the NFL. He has been outplayed in his second season by a pair of rookies in first-round pick Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, who was undrafted. Carolina also traded receiver Diontae Johnson last week.
The move for Mingo was probably about more than just this season for Dallas. Brandin Cooks, the No. 2 receiver behind All-Pro CeeDee Lamb, will be a free agent in 2025. Mingo's contract goes through 2026.
Lamb sprained his right shoulder against the Falcons but is expected to play Sunday. Cooks, who has a knee issue, can come off IR this week, but the Cowboys have been deliberate with their return-to-play designations.
To make room on the roster for Mingo, the Cowboys released cornerback Andrew Booth, who was acquired in a trade with Minnesota during training camp.
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones walks on the field before an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ Brynn Anderson)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) passes during the first half of an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/ John Bazemore)
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico is holding elections that will be historic regardless of which of the top two gubernatorial candidates wins.
If Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood New Progressive Party wins Tuesday's election, it will mark the first time in the island’s history that the party secures three consecutive terms.
If Juan Dalmau, who is running for Puerto Rico’s Independence Party and Citizen Victory Movement, wins, it will be the first win for a candidate outside of the two main parties that have dominated the island’s politics for decades.
Trailing González and Dalmau in polls is Jesús Manuel Ortiz of the Popular Democratic Party, which supports the island’s territorial status. Also running is Javier Jiménez of Project Dignity, a conservative party created in 2019.
Thousands of voters across the U.S. territory stood in long lines clutching umbrellas, undeterred by heavy rain.
“I feel that for the first time, there is an opportunity for change,” said Jorge Hernández, a 24-year-old arts student as he waited to cast his vote. “The bipartisanship is losing strength. I have faith that there can be real change.”
For decades, the New Progressive Party and the Popular Democratic Party would receive at least 90% of all votes, but that began to change in 2016. Newer parties are attracting more voters given Puerto Rico's economic and political turmoil while a younger generation is decrying corruption, persistent power outages and a lack of affordable housing, among other things.
Education, health and public safety also were on voters' minds as they marveled at the long lines despite the rain.
“I've never seen it like this,” said Nadja Oquendo, a 62-year-old retiree.
Faviola Alcalá, a pro surfer, said she was voting for the first time and was thrilled to see the line at her polling station.
“I love it,” she said, adding that she wants a break from Puerto Rico's two main parties and more opportunities for young people.
Among the voters who stepped out despite the rain was reggaetón superstar Bad Bunny, who has derided the pro-statehood party and made a brief appearance at Dalmau's campaign closer.
“I trust that we the people of Puerto Rico will make the right decision for the future of our people,” he told reporters.
Long lines were reported at several polling stations given malfunctioning voting machines and other issues, including power outages.
Some voters turned on their phone's timers to see how long they stood in line while others munched on snacks as a street vendor cried out, "Cold water! Cold water!"
Ommy González, a 25-year-old bartender who was voting for the first time, carried a fold-out chair and a water bottle.
“I'm very excited,” he said. “Obviously we want something different for the people.”
González said he wants a stronger economy and education system and denounced persistent political corruption: “Stop taking money and misspending it.”
Several voters said they were surprised at how quickly minority and new parties have become serious threats to the stronghold the two main parties have had on Puerto Rico's politics.
“I didn't see this happening so early on, but I'm glad,” said Giulianna Abreu, a 33-year-old publicist.
Although polling stations close late Tuesday afternoon, results could take a couple of days. In 2020, it took officials four days to release preliminary results.
Dalmau, however, said he believed results for the governorship would be ready by late Tuesday.: “We are hopeful that this country will take a historic step."
Puerto Rico’s State Elections Commission is still counting more than 220,000 early and absentee votes, with counting starting more than two weeks later than usual. Jessika Padilla, the commission’s alternate president, said some 40% of those votes had been counted as of Monday.
“This validation process is one that we are not going to take lightly,” she said.
More than 5,000 inmates out of some 7,400 total also have voted, although it’s unclear how many of those votes have been counted.
Officials also are still receiving allegations about electoral crimes, including from people who said they received confirmations for early voting when they made no such request.
On Tuesday, voters also will be asked for a seventh time about Puerto Rico’s political status. The nonbinding referendum offers three options: statehood, independence and independence with free association, under which issues like foreign affairs, U.S. citizenship and use of the U.S. dollar would be negotiated.
“We're going to work to give our people equality,” said Jenniffer González of the pro-statehood party.
Party officials have long noted that despite being a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico receives unequal treatment when it comes to Medicaid, Medicare and other federal programs.
Regardless of the referendum's outcome, a change in status requires approval from the U.S. Congress.
Some voters on Monday said that statehood is the only thing that will help pull Puerto Rico out of its slump.
In addition, Puerto Ricans on Tuesday can support Kamala Harris or Donald Trump in a symbolic vote if they wish. While Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, those on the island are not allowed to vote in U.S. presidential elections.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Supporters carry the Puerto Rican flag before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris arrives to speak at a campaign rally, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Allison Joyce)
A campaign poster promotes New Progressive Party gubernatorial candidate and Puerto Rico’s representative in Congress Jenniffer González, above a campaign poster of resident commissioner candidate Luis Villafañe, defaced with the Spanish words for corrupt and rogue, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A view of La Perla neighborhood in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. (AP Photo by Alejandro Granadillo)
A billboard promoting Puerto Rico’s Independence Party and the Citizen Victory Movement gubernatorial candidate Juan Dalmau towers over a highway, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.(AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
A supporter waves a Puerto Rican Independence Party flag while holding a campaign poster promoting the Citizens' Victory Movement mayoral candidate Manuel Natal, during a caravan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Alejandro Granadillo)
