Jerry Jones caused quite a commotion with the idea of a Dallas Cowboys quarterback controversy and Cooper Rush doesn’t quite agree with his owner’s line of thinking.
Rush is playing in relief of Dak Prescott, who fractured his thumb in the Cowboys’ opener. Rush was solid in just his second career start last week, helping Dallas to a 20-17 victory with 235 yards and a touchdown. He’ll make another start on Monday Night Football against the Giants and Jones voiced that if he keeps winning, it could cause a stir.
“Of course I would. Of course. That means we’d have won,” Jones said of the idea of welcoming a QB controversy. “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.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones entertained idea Cooper Rush could play well enough, team could win enough to force decision at QB when Dak Prescott able to return. “Wouldn’t it be something if you had a dilemma as to which way to go?” You’d want that controversy? “Of course I would.”
Being a full-time starter would be a dream for Rush but he clearly knows what his role is in Dallas, despite his owner’s comments.
“He just wants to win games and that’s what we all want to do,” Rush said of the comments from Jones. “I definitely don’t dream as big as Jerry. We just want to keep winning.”
Rush wasn’t the only one to shoot down the comments from Jones, with head coach Mike McCarthy also needing to add some context to the situation.
“I’m just trying to say this with a straight face,” McCarthy said Friday. “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 Attempts to Clarify Comments on Quarterbacks
Regardless of any kind of controversy Jones is trying to conjure, what’s clear is that Prescott gives the Cowboys the best chance to win. He threw for 4,449 yards, 37 touchdowns and 10 interceptions last season and the Cowboys finished the regular season 12-5.
After his comments went viral, Jones attempted to clarify his take on Prescott and the Cowboys’ QB situation in a subsequent interview.
“Now, I don’t believe there’s anybody in the world that doesn’t understand how much I appreciate Dak Prescott, his skills, and to have him for the future, and the future being right now really,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Friday. “But the point is that if players play at a level where you got people debating how or are you using them with their skills or as to who ought to be out there and who not when they’re playing at that level. That’s a positive.”
Dak Prescott Making Progress in Return From Injury
Prescott’s injury timeline went from grim to optimistic in a hurry, with both Stephen and Jerry Jones pitching an expedited return. The team appears to be targeting a return to the field against Washington on October 2.
“Everybody recognizes that he’ll be back sooner rather than later, as far as the timeline. It really could be a minimal, two weeks up here in my mind,” Jerry Jones said this week. “Now, that’s optimistic. That’s very optimistic but it could be. And he’s got the kind of injury the kind of repair there that will allow him not to have a lot of fear about reinjuring it, just a question of the grip.”
Prescott was back on the practice field on Thursday, albeit in a limited fashion. As Jones pointed out, it’s the grip on the ball that Prescott has to get back following thumb surgery. While he worked out and did some drills, the two-time Pro Bowler did not throw, outside of some training balls.
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Cowboys Backup Cooper Rush Responds to Stirring ‘QB Controversy’