With Dak Prescott out indefinitely, who will the Dallas Cowboys turn to at QB?
Aside from their backup quarterback, the Cowboys don’t have a lot of options for cover at the moment following Dak Prescott’s injury.
With the news of an indefinite absence looming for their star QB, attention now turns to just who will fill in for the Cowboys at QB and whether or not it will work.
Cowboys likely to turn to Cooper Rush at QB
On Sunday night, the Cowboys were dealt a massive blow. It wasn’t just that they lost 19-3 to the Buccaneers in what was ultimately an ugly season opener, but they also tragically lost one of the few remaining bright lights on their roster. By now, whether you watched the game or not, you will know that quarterback Dak Prescott is set to be out indefinitely after injuring his thumb during the game. Indeed, it is understood that Prescott will in fact require surgery as a result, which leaves the question ‘who will Cowboys turn to as a replacement at QB?’
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As things stand, the most likely scenario is that the Cowboys will go with backup Cooper Rush, who actually stepped in for Prescott for the final six minutes of Sunday’s game. To be fair, this isn’t the first time that Rush has had to cover for Prescott. Fans will recall, that he did so briefly in 2021 when he started Week 8′s contest against the Vikings. At the time, Prescott was recovering from a calf injury. At 28-years-old, Rush was originally undrafted from Central Michigan in 2017 and has spent almost five years with the franchise. During that time, he’s only been used in more than two games on one occasion. That being said, it was just last year that he put in a credible shift across five games with 30 of 47 for 422 yards, three touchdowns and one interception (105.1 passer rating). While he was less impressive on Sunday night with 7 of 13 for 64 yards while trailing by 16, the reality is a guy who can play.
Do the Cowboys have other options at QB?
While it’s not likely to be the option they will go with, the Cowboys could turn to practice squad QB Will Grier. A third-round pick in 2019 for the Panthers, Grier actually competed for the backup job just this summer gone. The 27-year-old former standout from West Virginia is in fact eligible for promotion to the active roster or at the very least a series of one-week call-ups. Though he spent all of 2021 inactive on the roster, he does have two starts to his name which he got during his rookie season. The fact that he was only able to complete 53% of his passes, however, does not do him any favors.
On the other hand, with 49ers veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo watching San Francisco’s current QB Trey Lance not start week 1 very well, we have reason to believe that Jimmy and the Cowboys might be interested in putting a deal in place.
Where external options are concerned, there is the possibility that the Cowboys will look to re-sign free agent Ben DiNucci. Released during final cuts, DiNucci was on and off the practice squad over the last two years. Fans will most likely remember his one emergency start back in 2020, when he performed credibly with 21 of 40 for 180 yards, but was unable to prevent a 23-9 loss to the Eagles. There has also been talk of former Panthers starter Cam Newton (unsigned), former Giants backup and spot starter Mike Glennon (unsigned) and former Broncos Josh Johnson, who they could foreseeably look to pinch off of Denver’s practice squad. At this point, there is no official word so all we can do is watch this space.