The Tampa Bay Rays have traded infielder/outfielders Taylor Motter and Richie Shaffer to the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguers Dalton Kelly, Andrew Kittredge and D

FRISCO, Texas -- Dak Prescott didnt want to take a break in practice three days before his debut as a rookie starter for Dallas.The quarterback suddenly thrust into the spotlight by yet another injury to Tony Romo wasnt happy with his footwork on the drill that had just finished, so he asked offensive coordinator Scott Linehan for a few more snaps.Its one illustration why the Cowboys believe they can survive a few games without Romo after the 36-year-olds fourth back injury in less than four years -- and why they believe they might have found a future beyond their 10-year starter.The fact that hes young and hes a rookie is pretty interesting, because you dont have that happen very often, Linehan said. But for us here, we dont really look at it like weve got this young guy out there playing. We look at it like weve got this really bright kid with a lot of ability who has shown that hes ready for this.In Sundays opener at home against the New York Giants, Prescott will be the first rookie starter at quarterback in Week 1 for the Cowboys since Quincy Carter 15 years ago.Throw in running back Ezekiel Elliott, and the Cowboys have the first such rookie combo starting an opener since Roger Staubach and Calvin Hill in 1969.Elliott was expected to be a starter. Prescott wasnt.The career passing leader at Mississippi State started training camp as an afterthought, the third quarterback behind Romo and Kellen Moore.Not only was he a fourth-round pick, but was taken after owner and general manager Jerry Jones had expressed regret that he couldnt get a deal done to move into the first round to get Paxton Lynch, who went to Denver and will be a backup when the season starts.Early in camp, Moore went down with a broken right ankle that ultimately ended his season, lifting Prescott to the backup role. Then Romo broke a bone in his back when was tackled awkwardly on the third play of the third preseason game at Seattle.By the time Romo got hurt, Prescott already had two impressive preseason showings. And the jolt of having to come off the bench much earlier than expected against the Seahawks didnt bother him either. The 23-year-old led a scoring drive on his first full possession.Tonys injury and him not starting Sunday is a setback, make no mistake about it, Jones said.On the other hand, I didnt expect Dak to come in and have the kind of offseason he had and build the kind of confidence hes done with the staff and with his teammates. That has tempered the setback.As Prescott zoomed up the depth chart, his answers didnt change much. Walked in the door wanting to one day be the starter. Kept preparing the same way, other than getting a lot more snaps in practice.The biggest difference: Instead of watching Romo, hes listening to him, along with Moore and Mark Sanchez, the veteran signed as his backup this week.What Tony did before he got hurt helped me enough, Prescott said. Just telling me things as practice went on, on and off the field, in the film room. When you have vets around me like I do, you feel good going into a game.And Prescott will still have vets with him in the huddle, namely 2014 All-Pro receiver Dez Bryant, who is healthy after a broken foot in last years opener against the Giants slowed him for the rest of the season. Jason Witten enters his 14th season as one of two tight ends in NFL history with at least 1,000 catches and 10,000 yards.Prescott had touchdown passes to both in the preseason.Daks in a real fortunate situation for him to be put in this situation with a veteran offensive group, Linehan said.We have the ability, I think, because of having an offense that has such maturity, that you can put this young player in there and he can continue to be more like himself and not have to carry so much of the burden.Hes handled everything so far. 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Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Allen Iverson Jersey Large . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Rays have traded infielder/outfielders Taylor Motter and Richie Shaffer to the Seattle Mariners for minor leaguers Dalton Kelly, Andrew Kittredge and Dylan Thompson.The deal was among the moves Tampa Bay made in setting its 40-man roster before the reserve list deadline Friday night.Motter made his major league debut this year, batting .188 in 34 games over two stints with the Rays. Shaffer appeared in 51 games over the past two seasons, hitting .213.Kelly is a 22-year-old first baseman who spent the past season with Class-A Clinton, where he hit .293 with 30 doubles, seven home runs and 58 RBI. Kittredgge, 26, and Thompson, 20, are right-handed pitchers.ddddddddddddMeanwhile, the Rays added right-handed minor league pitchers Chih-Wei Hu, Austin Pruitt, Jaime Schultz, Ryne Stanek and Hunter Wood, left-handed pitcher Jose Alvarado and infielders Willy Adames and Daniel Robertson to their 40-man roster.Right-handed reliever Steve Geltz, who split last season between the Rays and Triple-A Durham, was designated for assignment. Left-hander John Lamb, acquired this month from the Cincinnati Reds for cash, was released. ' ' '