The quarterback room of the Dallas Cowboys is in for an exciting season. Unless there is an injury, Dak Prescott will start.
However, it is still unclear how much further this season will last.
It’s also unclear if he will be eligible for free agency after the season ends or if he will receive an extension this season.
Which means that when training camp begins the following week, there will be one topic of intrigue in the quarterback room. Which backup quarterback is cut and which is benched?
That’s the most significant response for Cooper Rush and Trey Lance in their individual careers to date.
For the duration of this article, we’ll assume that Prescott starts every game, at least through 2024.
The contest in Oxnard over the next few weeks for QB2 will undoubtedly be the most closely followed, at least among the non-starters.
Rush Is in Possession of the Resume
With the exception of the 2020 campaign, Rush has been a member of the Cowboys’ roster since 2017. He is therefore a well-known figure in Dallas.
He has played in 26 games over the course of six seasons, starting six of them in place of an injured Prescott.
He’s passed for 1,619 yards with a completion percentage of 60.6% and eight touchdowns.
Sure enough, he has five interceptions. Three of them, though, were part of the 2022 road defeat to the Eagles.
For whatever reason, Kellen Moore attempted to turn Rush into the next Dan Marino during that game rather than allowing him be a ball-controlling, game-manager.
In what ended up being his only start since, it was his worst game. It also led to his lone defeat in six starts.
He had won each of his previous five starts, starting in 2021 with a crucial victory in Minnesota.
Rush completed the game with two touchdowns and one interception on 24-of-40 passing for 325 yards.
Rush completed a 10-play, 65-yard drive with a five-yard pass to Amari Cooper with 51 seconds remaining. With Prescott out for the whole contest, the Cowboys won 20–16. Dallas’ season record now stands at 6-1 as a result.
Rush responded once more in 2022 following Prescott’s thumb injury that sidelined him for the first game of the season.
He kept the Cowboys’ season alive by leading them to four straight wins. When he came back, he gave Prescott a 4-2 record, even though they had lost to the Eagles.
Without Rush’s efforts, the score would have easily been 0–6.
Rush has demonstrated his ability to finish. I take it that he will be a lock for QB2 in 2024?
In the words of Lee Corso: “Not so fast, my friend.”
Lance’s Final Defense
Lance was acquired by the Cowboys last year by trading a fourth-round pick to the 49ers. The same guy that the 49ers selected in the first round of the 2021 draft by trading three choices for.
Lance’s tenure out west was doomed by his history of injuries and San Francisco’s selection of a diamond in the rough in the next year’s draft.
Throughout his two years with the 49ers, the former North Dakota State player appeared in just eight games. He would not see Dallas taking any action in 2023.
His statistics are… lackluster.
With only 102 pass attempts, he has completed 56 of them for a completion percentage of 54.9% and 797 yards. Only five touchdowns and three interceptions have he accumulated.
When healthy, he displayed his legs as a running quarterback for the Bison in San Francisco. He has 235 yards and one touchdown on 54 carries.
These samples are insufficient to accurately assess Lance’s abilities.
Dallas has nevertheless committed a draft pick to him. They should at least see what they have by giving him a test drive.
And so the struggle of the backups is about to start.
How Things Will Proceed
As I mentioned in my last piece on another kid from North Dakota State who plays for the Cowboys, I fully acknowledge that I have a prejudice toward Bison Boys.
Having said that, I’m betting on Lance to start at quarterback two when the season kicks off in September. But that decision will be made by Lance and Rush, not by me.
Prescott won’t play much in the preseason—perhaps just a quarter—if history repeats itself.
Naturally, the coaches will have a close look at all three during camp, but Lance will have the best opportunity to bench Rush during those three preseason games.
At the end of the day, he might be the quarterback of choice if he can outperform Rush on the field against real opponents who are guys vying for their own jobs.
What happens if Prescott is free to sign with another team and isn’t signed to an extension? In 2025, he might be a QB1.
That means that the Oxnard backup quarterback competition is the one to watch.