Cowboys ‘Curious’ Quarterback Still Buried on Depth Chart: Report

It’s been a little less than a year since the Cowboys made the eye-opening move of trading away a fourth-round pick here in 2024 for the rights to quarterback Trey Lance, who was then an unwanted fourth-stringer for the 49ers, but had only recently been the franchise’s No. 3 overall pick.

Strange to say, but after 11 months, we still know precious little about whether Lance can hack it as an NFL quarterback. With Dak Prescott potentially heading to free agency in March, unless a new deal is worked out, the Cowboys really want some answers on Lance’s viability as a backup plan.

But heading into the preseason opener, at least, the answers so far are … not great. Lance has been only mediocre in the early going of camp, at times impressing with accuracy and deep balls, and at times throwing lollipop interceptions.

With Prescott being held out of all preseason games, according to the decree of coach Mike McCarthy and the organization, the Cowboys will be giving Lance ample opportunity to show what he can do. But apparently there is still apprehension about what will be revealed, and whether Lance is even fit to be Prescott’s backup.

---

Trey Lance ‘Will Be Fascinating to Track’

That nugget comes from ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler, who noted that the Cowboys’ fascination with Lance remains in place, but the reliability of Cooper Rush currently ranks as a priority for Dallas.

“The Trey Lance experiment will be fascinating to track,” Fowler wrote. “On Saturday, Lance got extensive reps throwing the ball from the pocket. He showed a mixed bag, glimpses of decisive and impressive throws coupled with a few curious ones.

“Here’s the issue Lance faces: The Cowboys feel good about Cooper Rush as a QB2, and if they needed to try to win a game without Prescott today, Rush would be in there. Coach Mike McCarthy believes in him to handle that stage. So that leaves Lance for now in the developmental QB3 phase.”

Another issue Lance faces, though, is that the team expected him to be at the top of his game by this point. Remember in May, when McCarthy had such high praise for Lance?

“Young quarterback comes into a new system, so you got the learning curve, but now starting to get the timing with the routes,” McCarthy said at the time. “He’s close to being a master of the system. He has a really high understanding. He’s communicating very well. He looks more and more comfortable. He just needs reps.”

That’s a high bar. Lance should not still be a developmental QB3—he is supposed to be a “master” of McCarthy’s offense.

---

Cowboys Still Counting on Cooper Rush?

Rush is a different story, a polished and proven backup.

He was the QB2 for seven seasons and played so well in relief of Prescott when he was injured in 2022—Rush was 4-0 to begin his starting stretch—that there was legitimate conversation about whether Dallas should stick with him even when Prescott was healthy.

That fascination has passed, but Rush remains a reliable backup whom the Cowboys can trust. At age 30, he is not a threat to take the QB1 job from Prescott and when it comes to the big picture, what the Cowboys want on is to have Lance as a potential Prescott replacement.

Lance gives the Cowboys some leverage in negotiations with Prescott. He also might well be needed if things fall apart with Prescott. Assuming Lance goes into 2024 as the No. 2 quarterback, that could leave no place for Rush, who could wind up being released.

That’s only if things go well with Lance, though, and apparently, they have not gone so well that the Cowboys see hm as a future QB1. They’re not even at QB2 yet.

0 Comments