Cowboys’ Former Highly Touted QB Considered ‘Trade Bait’: Analyst

The Dallas Cowboys could consider a former highly touted quarterback “trade bait,” according to one writer.

As suggested by SB Nation’s Sean Martin, the Cowboys could “move on” from some talented players by the time they trim their roster to 53 players. Training camp will decide key position battles, including the backup quarterback competition between Cooper Rush and Will Grier.

One of the players Martin suggests could be traded is none other than Grier. While he technically lists both Rush and Grier as possible trade candidates, Martin concludes that the former will likely win the competition — which could lead to the Cowboys shopping the former third-round draft pick.

“Rush earned a road primetime win in 2021 that earned him the job last season, where he was needed for five games, winning four of them until Dak Prescott returned in week seven,” writes Martin. “This likely makes Grier the player Dallas is more willing to move on from, and though he has less experience overall, playing in multiple offensive schemes is valuable as a backup.”

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How Will Grier Could Become ‘Trade Bait’

Martin also details how training camp usually leads to injuries. Those injuries could entice teams to make a possible move for Rush or Grier.

“No stranger to the value of a reliable backup quarterback the past two seasons, the Cowboys are in a good place having both Cooper Rush and Will Grier on the roster,” writes Martin. “As camp injuries take place or depth is needed elsewhere on their own roster build, either Rush or Grier could become trade bait.”

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Why Cooper Rush is Likely to Win Cowboys’ Backup Job

Grier was a highly-rated recruit coming out of high school, ranked as the second-best dual threat quarterback by Rivals.com in the class of 2014. He was offered scholarships by a number of SEC schools, including Florida, Auburn and Arkansas.

Although both quarterbacks aren’t exactly experienced, it’s Rush — not Grier — who has shown that he can be successful in the Cowboys’ offense. Rush went 4-1 as the starting quarterback last season while Dak Prescott was sidelined due to injury early on in the season.

While Rush didn’t dominate from a statistical standpoint — he threw just five touchdowns against three interceptions for a 58% completion rate last season — he managed the offense well and led the Cowboys to victories over eventual playoff teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Giants.

Furthermore, Rush has been a member of the Cowboys since the 2017 season and has shown some ability to turn in big games. During his lone start during the 2021 season, Rush led Dallas to a dramatic comeback victory in the last minute over the Minnesota Vikings, throwing a game-winning touchdown pass to Amari Cooper. During that 20-16 victory over the Vikings, Rush threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 8.1 yards per attempt.

The Cowboys rewarded Rush with a two-year, $5 million contract in the offseason.

Meanwhile, Grier has yet to take a single snap for Dallas since he was claimed off waivers at the beginning of the 2021 season. While Grier has managed to stick around the roster — despite being waived — over the past two seasons, he has yet to overtake Rush for valuable playing time.

Furthermore, he hasn’t started since the 2019 season with the Carolina Panthers. During his two-game stretch as a starting QB for the Panthers, Grier looked lost, going 0-2 while throwing zero touchdowns versus four interceptions. The Panthers lost both of those games by 32 points each. He averaged just 4.4 yards per attempt, completing 53.8% of his attempts and taking six sacks while throwing just 52 pass attempts.

For perspective, that’s a sack every 8.6 pass attempts. The most sacked quarterback in the NFL last season — the Denver Broncos‘ Russell Wilson — took a sack every 8.8 pass attempts.

If the Cowboys once again decide Rush is the backup to Prescott, Dallas could possibly trade Grier for a late-round draft pick to a quarterback-needy team.

 

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