Don’t put the newly acquired Joe Milton III into the Cowboys starting lineup just yet.

Three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott, who missed the final nine games of last season after undergoing hamstring surgery, said he would be ready to make his return if the Cowboys were playing in April.

“If I had to play a game today, I definitely could do that,” Prescott reportedly said Friday at the 35th annual Children’s Cancer Fund gala. “It’s about moving forward healthy to make sure I can play 17 times, 20 (games). Whatever we get to when the time’s right.”

One year after finishing second in the 2023 NFL MVP vote and earning a huge contract, Prescott was on pace for arguably the worst season of his career even prior to suffering the season-ending injury. He had 11 touchdown pᴀsses and eight interceptions during a 3-5 start.

Prescott was fresh off signing a four-year, $240 million contract extension just before Week 1 to become the first $60 million-per-year quarterback in NFL history. That upped the stakes for him to lead the Cowboys deep into the playoffs – something missing from his nine-year resume.

The Cowboys just traded a fifth-round pick to the Patriots for Milton and a seventh-round pick, which sparked some questions about the timeline for Prescott’s recovery. Especially because Milton reportedly sees himself as a starter who wants to compete for a job — not sit around as insurance. 

But Prescott, 31, sounds like he will be on the field for OTAs next month.

“I’m getting close to where I want to be. I don’t want to put a percentage on it,” he said. “I know we’ve got team activities coming up. Imagine myself being involved in some sort, if not all.

“Then again, I just understand my age, what I’ve had, what I’ve went through. It’s about being my best in the fall. So I’m not rushing anything, but I’m where I want to be.”