Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci are out, leaving Cooper Rush as the Cowboys’ only backup while Cam Newton’s name has popped up on cut day. | From @ToddBrock24f7
The Cowboys’ backup quarterback situation has been resolved. Or has it?
Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert were among the team’s early cuts on Tuesday, hours ahead of the deadline to get to 53 names on the active roster. Both played significant roles last season in relief of Dak Prescott and Andy Dalton for Dallas. But moving forward- at least for the time being- Cooper Rush will be Prescott’s understudy for the 2021 season, even as some A-list names surface around the league.
Rush signed with the Cowboys in 2017 as an undrafted free agent out of Central Michigan. After a midseason release that year of then-backup Kellen Moore, Rush ascended to the No. 2 role behind Prescott. He saw time late in a Week 7 blowout win over the 49ers, where he went 1-for-2 passing for two yards. He also had a lone incompletion versus Philadelphia in Week 11 that season.
Rush was waived in spring 2020 upon the signing of Andy Dalton; he was claimed by the Giants the following day, reuniting him with his former coach Jason Garrett, the newly-hired offensive coordinator in New York. The Giants released Rush three weeks later. A month after that, Dallas brought him back for depth as the team dealt with Prescott’s extended absence.
He was largely considered the third option among the backups (at least to those outside the organization) until a strong showing against Houston in the third preseason game. Days later, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones went so far to say of the team with Rush at the helm, “We can do everything. We can do our complete portfolio as far as our offense is concerned with Cooper Rush. He’s a little different, but still, we can do everything.”
Now with the release of Gilbert and DiNucci, he may have to, should something happen to Prescott. That undoubtedly causes some concern with Cowboys fans, the notion of turning over the reins to a offense that’s projected to be among the NFL’s elite to a quarterback who- despite his familiarity with Moore and the team’s playbook- has completed just one career regular-season pass for two yards.
Jones and the coaching staff are apparently undeterred.
“I think that you’ve got to assume that- with his knowledge of what we’re doing offensively, what we’re doing with the existing personnel that we’re going to be opening with- you’ve got to assume you’ve got a pretty high bar here, in terms of what’s the most effective way to play if you didn’t have Dak now,” Jones said Tuesday morning, according to the team website.
Of course, just as the Cowboys are thinning their roster, so are 31 other teams. That means at least a handful of capable quarterbacks will suddenly be on the open market. Much of Cowboys Nation jumped at the Tuesday morning announcement, for example, that the Patriots had released former league MVP Cam Newton.
Would the 2010 Heisman Trophy winner, top overall draft pick, and three-time Pro Bowler be an upgrade over Rush? In a pure skills competition, almost assuredly. But Newton’s stats have dropped off considerably as of late, and his lightning-rod personality may be more drama than Cowboys coaches want to introduce into the locker room during Prescott’s comeback season. Plus, his unvaccinated status adds a wrinkle that’s at least worth noting for a team that’s already been hit hard by COVID-19 in recent weeks.
Cowboy Cam seems… unlikely. But never say never.
There will be other noteworthy names in the coming hours and days. Gilbert and/or DiNucci could even end up back on the Cowboys’ practice squad. Rush isn’t guaranteed anything beyond being the only quarterback behind Dak Prescott as of Tuesday.
And Tuesday’s not over yet.
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