With Cooper Rush gone, who’s next in line as the Cowboys' backup QB?
The Cowboys weren’t willing to pay Rush to keep him as their backup and now the QB2 who started eight games for Dallas in 2024 has signed with Baltimore.
The Dallas Cowboys lost their backup quarterback Cooper Rush after eight seasons with the team and as a reliable QB2 to Dak Prescott when he’s been out with injuries. That includes in 2024, when Rush played from Week 10-17 after Prescott suffered a season-ending hamstring injury.
Two years ago, Rush signed a two-year, $6 million deal with the Cowboys. In his time with the Cowboys, he started 14 games and has a record of 9-5.
At the beginning of the 2024 season, the Cowboys gave Prescott a contract extension that made him the highest-paid player in the league. COO Stephen Jones said that keeping Rush around after that just wasn’t feasible for the team due to the costs.
So they let him walk in free agency and the Baltimore Ravens came in and swooped him up, signing him to a two-year, $12.2 million deal.
Ravens, QB Cooper Rush agree to terms on a 2-year deal worth up to $12.2M. (via @rapsheet, @tompelissero) pic.twitter.com/xzIRgy2DWb
— NFL (@NFL) March 16, 2025
There’s no way the Cowboys would’ve been willing to pay that (whether they should or not is up for debate), so off he goes. He may have been willing to accept less had the Cowboys not completely screwed him out of his full-time incentive. In Week 18, the Cowboys started Trey Lance over Rush, causing him to lose out on an additional $250,000.
So, where does this leave them at quarterback depth?
Cowboys' quarterback situation
Behind Rush, the Cowboys had Trey Lance, who they barely played until of course, Week 18. But he hit free agency this offseason as well.
Obviously, after Dak’s mega contract, it’s clear they expect him to be their starter for the foreseeable future, but he’s also clearly not invincible and will need a sturdy backup. At the moment, the Cowboys have just Will Grier, who was the Cowboys' QB3 from 2021 to 2023 and again in the 2024 season. He has just two career starts, both in 2019 when he played for the Carolina Panthers.
The Cowboys have said they will be looking for another quarterback in the NFL Draft this April.
The #Cowboys will be choosing between Will Grier and potentially a quarterback they draft as the backup to Dak Prescott, who has missed the majority of games twice in the last five seasons.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL) March 16, 2025
Rush has been a valuable backup, compiling a 9-5 record as the starter in Dallas.
Rush… https://t.co/uDZjdRFkMu
“You know, I think one of our goals is to get a young quarterback in the draft,” Jones said. “I don’t know where that’s going to be...That’s why we gave a [fourth-round pick] for Trey. It seems like all the quarterbacks, even guys we have in the fourth round, go in the first. They always go so much higher than what you think.”
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