Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a significant hamstring injury during Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons. Now, the highest-paid quarterback in NFL history will reportedly be sidelined for multiple weeks. The Cowboys are currently 3-5 and desperately trying to keep their playoff hopes alive, so will we see them make a move for a quarterback?
Cowboys’ Internal Options To Replace Dak Prescott
If the Cowboys don’t want to make a move for a quarterback, they’ll likely turn to Cooper Rush or Trey Lance.
Rush filled in for Prescott on Sunday against the Falcons, completing 13 of 25 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Rush went 4-1 after relieving Prescott as the Cowboys’ starter in 2022, putting the ball in the hands of Dallas’ playmakers and letting them get to work. He typically looks composed when asked to enter a game in Prescott’s place and led several comeback victories during his five-game run two years ago.
Pro Football Network ranked Rush as the NFL’s 15th-best backup quarterback.
Last year, the Cowboys acquired Lance from the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick (which became safety Malik Mustapha). The 24-year-old has potential, but he’s clearly a project who needs to continue developing, as evidenced by his five-interception game against the Los Angeles Chargers during the 2024 preseason.
With their season on the line, it seems unlikely that the Cowboys would hand the reins over to Lance rather than Rush, especially considering the latter has more experience with the system and better chemistry with Dallas’ receivers.
But if the Cowboys did want to bring in an outside quarterback to replace Prescott, let’s examine their best options.
Potential Free Agent Options To Replace Prescott
Entering Week 10, it’s not a huge surprise viable options are scarce in free agency. However, one free agent is clearly better than the rest, and that’s Ryan Tannehill.
The 36-year-old has 11 years of NFL experience, and he spent the last five years starting for the Tennessee Titans before the organization decided to hand the keys to Will Levis.
In 10 games last season, Tannehill completed 149-of-230 passes (64.8%) for 1,616 yards, four touchdowns, and seven interceptions (while adding a rushing touchdown). While his 2023 numbers were pretty rough, he was significantly better from 2019-2022, when he threw for 12,831 yards, 89 touchdowns, and 33 interceptions on a 66.9% completion percentage (while adding 20 scores on the ground).
With talented weapons like CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson, Jalen Tolbert, and Brandin Cooks (once he returns from IR), could Tannehill produce closer to his peak than what we saw in 2023?
Aside from Tannehill, there aren’t many appealing free agents for the Cowboys to consider. Tom Brady’s name always gets mentioned in situations like this, but the GOAT is now 47 years old and two years removed from playing football.
Also, he would have to take a massive pay cut to return to football since he signed a 10-year, $375 million contract to be FOX’s lead analyst. He also just became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, which further complicates matters. While he came out of retirement once, it isn’t happening now.
So, who else is out there? Kellen Mond, P.J. Walker, Max Duggan, Nate Sudfeld, and Tim Boyle are several quarterbacks on the market, but there’s no chance that Jerry Jones and Co. are turning to one of them rather than Rush or Lance.
Potential Trade Targets To Replace Prescott
Again, the Cowboys already made a trade to improve their quarterback room one year ago when they added Lance, so it likely doesn’t make sense to give up another draft pick or asset to add another signal-caller, especially if Prescott is only going to be sidelined for several weeks. But for the sake of the exercise, who are the best trade candidates that Dallas could pursue if they did want to go down that path?
Andy Dalton, Carolina Panthers
In Week 3, the Carolina Panthers benched Bryce Young for Andy Dalton. The 37-year-old led the Panthers to a 36-22 win over the Raiders, throwing for 319 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the win. However, Carolina lost its next four games with Dalton under center, and he totaled 670 passing yards, four touchdowns, and six interceptions in those contests.
The Panthers have since pivoted back to Young after Dalton sprained his thumb in a car accident during Week 8. Dalton is a 14-year veteran who is on an expiring contract. Carolina is 2-7 and a seller as the Nov. 5 deadline approaches, so moving Dalton for a pick or young player who better fits their timeline would make sense.
Dalton spent the 2020 season with the Cowboys, so he’s familiar with head coach Mike McCarthy and Co. That season, Dalton appeared in 11 games (including nine starts) and threw for 2,170 yards, 14 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with a 64.9% completion percentage.
Justin Fields, Pittsburgh Steelers
With Russell Wilson playing well and leading the Pittsburgh Steelers to back-to-back wins since becoming the starter, could Justin Fields be available?
As Pittsburgh’s starter, Fields led the team to a 4-2 record while throwing for 1,106 yards, five touchdowns, and one interception and rushing for 231 yards and five touchdowns. He also posted a career-high 66.3% completion percentage prior to getting benched for Wilson. The 25-year-old is ranked PFN’s third-best backup quarterback.
Fields is in the final year of his rookie contract, so the Cowboys wouldn’t owe him anything beyond this season. Still, it seems unlikely that Dallas would give up any assets to add Fields as a multi-week rental.
Gardner Minshew, Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders are 2-7 and should be sellers at the deadline. We already saw them trade Davante Adams to the New York Jets, and they just benched Gardner Minshew during Sunday’s loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, giving Desmond Ridder a chance under center. Las Vegas also fired multiple coaches, including offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, after the loss.
Could the Cowboys obtain Minshew for a late pick? (Would they even want to start Minshew over Rush?)
This season, Minshew has passed for 1,501 yards, six touchdowns, and eight interceptions on a 67% completion percentage. The 28-year-old was better last season with the Indianapolis Colts when he threw for 3,305 yards, 15 touchdowns, and nine interceptions (while also rushing for three scores).
Jimmy Garoppolo, Los Angeles Rams
Jimmy Garoppolo had to serve a two-game PED suspension before officially becoming the Los Angeles Rams’ backup QB, but he’s currently serving as a depth piece behind Matthew Stafford.
The 33-year-old played seven games last season for the Raiders, throwing for 1,205 yards, seven touchdowns, and nine interceptions on a 65.1% completion percentage. Over the prior two seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, he totaled 6,247 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions (plus five rushing touchdowns).
Garoppolo’s best days are behind him, but he is still PFN’s sixth-best backup quarterback.
While it’s always fun to consider potential trade targets and free agent signings, the most likely obvious path forward is for the Cowboys to stick with Rush and Lance given their familiarity with the offense and teammates.