Getty Aaron Donald and the Rams before running onto the field on October 3, 2022.
The Los Angeles Rams officially return to practice on Wednesday, October 5 and now, they know the quarterback they’ll be game-planning for.
And it won’t be the $160 million franchise signal-caller and two-time Pro Bowler who many had eye-balled would return for the Week 5 showdown with the Rams.
Cowboys To Stick With Rush
It will be Cooper Rush who will deal with the likes of Aaron Donald, Leonard Floyd, Bobby Wagner, Jalen Ramsey and the rest of the Rams defense.
The reason? First per the Dallas Morning News Cowboys reporter Michael Gehlken on Tuesday, October 4, Dak Prescott was still dealing with his ailing thumb from the Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — prompting the Cowboys to make this quarterback change:
“Cowboys are signing QB Will Grier from practice squad to 53-man roster, person familiar with situation said. He will be No. 2 quarterback this Sunday at Rams behind Cooper Rush with Dak Prescott (thumb) missing a fourth straight game. Grier was out of standard elevations,” Gehlken tweeted.
But now, Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones revealed where things stand with the quarterback the Cowboys once rewarded with a four-year, $160 million deal: Prescott’s grip of the football makes him “not well enough to play” against the Rams.
“I don’t know that you could ask for better news technically, physically in how it’s responding, how it’s healing so to speak,” Jones said on 105.3 FM The Fan in Dallas on Wednesday, October 5. “So all of those things are on go and I don’t know that as we bid bye to each day if considering the injury, considering the location of the injury, I don’t know that you could make any more progress. There’s some things here about healing that again I often say only the man upstairs knows how that works, but he’ll have a big week and he’ll be hard on himself getting it ready to go.”
Prescott and the Cowboys had long viewed the Rams contest as when he could return, with the extent of his thumb injury being diagnosed as one that would keep him out of action for up to four weeks. But now, the depth chart for the Sunday, October 9 home game for the Rams at SoFi Stadium will likely have Rush as the starter and Grier as QB2.
Had Prescott played, it would’ve marked his fifth game against the Rams. He’s 1-3 overall versus L.A. and his last game against the Rams was the debut of SoFi Stadium on September 13, 2020.
Cowboys With Rush
Dallas has been rolling with Rush behind center.
Following a dismal Week 1 outing in the 19-3 loss to the Bucs, the 28-year-old Rush has since spearheaded three straight victories for the red-hot Cowboys.
In each game, Rush has delivered a completion percentage of no lower than 55.5% and has thrown a combined four touchdown passes…with zero interceptions. Rush has also accomplished a QB rating of between 95.5. to 107.5 in all three victories according to Pro Football Reference. He’s also only been sacked twice in his three starts.
Rush will be squaring off with a Rams defense that has produced seven sacks so far this season, with Wagner and Donald tying for the team lead with two. The Rams, however, didn’t produce any sacks or takeaways in the 24-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
The Rams, though, have this advantage: They’ve won the last two meetings versus Dallas in games held in L.A.