Day One without Ezekiel Elliott as his teammate hasn't exactly gone smoothly for Dak Prescott ... the Cowboys star quarterback said he's awfully sad his BFF won't be playing alongside him in Dallas again.
Dak spoke publicly about Elliott's release to media members for the first time on Thursday afternoon ... admitting he's "hurt" the running back was cut on Wednesday.
"I really can't imagine taking the field without him," Prescott said. "It's something that I don't know if it's completely hit me yet."
Prescott and Elliott joined the Cowboys together back in 2016 -- Elliott was a 1st-round pick, Dak was a 4th-rounder -- and the two quickly became inseparable.