Getty Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones
Try as they might, the Dallas Cowboys cannot locate a suitable upgrade on Garrett Gilbert.
To this point, the former Alliance of American Football star has fended off the likes of Jeff Driskel, J.T. Barrett, Brady Davis, and Brett Hundley, all of whom auditioned for Dallas’ No. 2 quarterback job over the last month — and all of whom failed to get it.
The Cowboys thus appear poised to head into the 2021 regular season with Gilbert entrenched as Dak Prescott’s direct backup, though the SMU product refuses to discount looming competition from Cooper Rush and Ben DiNucci, the other in-house signal-callers.
“I just worry about what I can control,” Gilbert recently said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “I’ve been around long enough now. I think when I’ve worried about that stuff in the past, when I was younger, I think it got in the way of what I’m trying to do. So when I come here every day, it’s to accomplish two things: to get better every day in some form or fashion, and then to be the best quarterback I can be for this team.
“Obviously, yes that is my goal, to win the No. 2 job here. But again, I think the best way to go about that is by just worrying about the things I can control, worry about having a good practice, worry about getting my feet right, worry about the things that are going to help me get better.”
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Background on Gilbert
Signed off the Cleveland Browns’ practice squad last October — Dallas requiring insurance after Prescott’s season-ending ankle injury, then-backup Andy Dalton’s concussion, and DiNucci’s disastrous rookie debut — Gilbert impressed fans and media alike amid his lone 2020 start.
Gilbert completed 21-of-38 passes for 243 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, adding 28 yards on three scrambles in a 24-19 defeat to Pittsburgh last November. Despite facing constant pressure, he appeared confident, accurate, and decisive, warranting praise from Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
“I thought he definitely brought it from the practice field to the game,” McCarthy said after the game.
Gilbert entered the NFL in 2014 as a sixth-round draft pick of the Rams. He bounced to the New England Patriots during his rookie campaign, where he earned a Super Bowl ring as a member of their practice squad.
His star eventually fading, Gilbert took his talents to the AAF’s Orlando Apollos, drafted in November 2018. He started the Apollos’ inaugural game and won Offensive Player of the Week with a 393-yard, two-touchdown effort in Orlando’s second contest. Gilbert led the AAF in passing yards (2,152), attempts (259), completions (157), and passer rating (99.1), and ranked second in TD passes (13), when the league shuttered football operations in April 2019.
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‘Logical Choice’ for QB2?
As far back as February, before Dalton would leave in free agency, Gilbert was viewed as the common-sense solution to the Cowboys’ backup QB dilemma. The team’s official website at the time even dubbed the 29-year-old the “logical choice” for the gig.
“The biggest quarterback question in Dallas continues to be, without question, Prescott’s contract status. The No. 2 spot is yet to be determined, too,” Rob Phillips of DallasCowboys.com recently wrote. “Andy Dalton is set to be an unrestricted free agent after leading the Cowboys to three straight wins and the brink of the playoffs last season. For the first time in his career, he has a chance to hit the open market in March and seek a starting opportunity elsewhere. If that happens, Gilbert becomes a logical option to back up Prescott next season. He and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore spent one preseason together as backups with the Lions in 2015, so there’s some built-in familiarity there. The Cowboys could look to free agency or the draft for competition, but a tighter salary cap might impact those decisions more than in a normal year. Currently, Gilbert and last year’s seventh-round pick Ben DiNucci are the only QBs currently under contract, though the Cowboys have the option to franchise-tag Prescott for a second straight year if needed.”
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL