Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones made headlines on Thursday when he hinted that Cooper Rush could replace Pro Bowler Dak Prescott as the team’s starting quarterback.
Prescott left the Cowboys’ Week 1 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a hand injury that required surgery. Rush started the team’s Week 2 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, leading Dallas to a 20-17 upset win.
While speaking to reporters on Thursday (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) Jones explained that he would welcome a quarterback controversy in Dallas:
“Of course I would. Of course. That means we’d have won. If he comes in there and plays as well as Prescott played, Rush? Played that well over these next games ahead? I’d walk to New York to get that.”
But on Friday, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy poured cold water over the idea of another Cowboys QB controversy. The Super Bowl 45 winning head coach told reporters reiterated that Prescott will be the team’s starter when he returns, per Archer:
“I’m just trying to say this with a straight face. Like anything, you look at the whole thing, it’s about winning. That’s all we really care about. There is no quarterback controversy…Dak is our starter.”
Jones and the Cowboys have been optimistic that Prescott would miss no more than three games. The team decided not to place the 2016 Offensive Rookie of the Year on the injured reserve, as doing so would have required him to miss at least four contests.
Click on ‘Follow Us’ and get notified of the most viral NFL stories via Google! Follow Us
In Week 2, Rush completed 19 of 31 pass attempts for 235 yards and one touchdown without throwing an interception. It was a far better performance than Prescott’s outing against Tampa, an ugly 19-3 loss in which Prescott completed less than half his pass attempts (14 of 29) for 134 yards and no touchdowns.
Rush also had to start for an injured Prescott in Week 8 against the Minnesota Vikings last season, as the latter was dealing with a calf strain. Rush completed 24 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns, leading Dallas to a 20-16 upset win.
The Cowboys will try to improve to 2-1 on the year when they visit the NFC East Rival New York Giants on Monday Night Football in Week 3.
