FRISCO, Texas – For now, the Dallas Cowboys have named Dak Prescott’s primary backup.
The shuffle begins as the Cowboys trim their roster to the 53-player cutdown on Tuesday. A day Mike McCarthy described as the “worst part of the job.” The club released quarterbacks Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci.
Gilbert got most of the first-team reps throughout training camp and started three of four preseason games for Dallas. He was the clear frontrunner in the competition battle but Rush’s successful performance against the Texans in preseason week three, added intrigue. He led the team to the end zone twice, garnering reps with the starters later that week in practice. Rush started against the Jaguars in week four and evidently showcased enough confidence and poise in the pocket to win the job.
DiNucci, the team’s seventh-round pick in 2020 was a Mike McCarthy favorite with the “mobility” element to his game but struggled behind Rush and Gilbert throughout training camp/the preseason.
During the preseason, Rush completed 29 of 46 passes for 272 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. In contrast, Gilbert threw for 301 yards on 28-of-50 attempts with one touchdown and no interceptions. DiNucci completed 35 of 66 attempts for 348 yards, two touchdowns, and four interceptions.
Rush held the backup role from 2017-19 and he regains his position on the roster. He had an advantage in the process given his familiarity with Kellen Moore’s offensive system, a note that owner and general manger Jerry Jones discussed.
“I just think he’s shown that he can run the complete offense,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan. “Credit to him. He had some tough competition. Those guys didn’t cut him any slack. He’s had a lot of reps. All of our quarterbacks had because of the absence of Dak. All of those things make us feel real comfortable here.”
The Cowboys could opt to explore options based on other team’s cuts around the league, but Jones voiced confidence in Rush and his experience level with the system and personnel in Dallas.
“I think that you got to assume with his knowledge and what we’re doing offensively and what we’re doing with existing personnel that we’re going to be opening with, you got to assume you 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 on 105.3 The Fan. “And all of that said it’s a high bar when you got the background in it that Cooper’s got.”
As for Dak Prescott, Jones said he is a “full go” with no limitations. Prescott returned to the competitive portion of practice last week after suffering a muscle strain in his right shoulder in Oxnard on July 28th. He did not play in the preseason, but the Cowboys are confident he will be ready to go in Week 1 against the defending Super Bowl champion, Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
