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The Dallas Cowboys don’t have much depth behind starting quarterback Dak Prescott. The reigning NFC East champions intend to enter the 2022 campaign with Cooper Rush as the primary backup, flanked by Ben DiNucci and Will Grier. Not exactly a trio of awe-inspiring names for the Philadelphia Eagles’ main rival in the NFC East.
That’s why many Cowboys fans and media members are calling for the franchise to trade for Eagles quarterback Gardner Minshew, who they could come into training camp and compete with Rush for the backup job. Minshew, 26, would be an immediate upgrade to the quarterbacks room in Dallas, according to Inside the Star’s Rocky Garza Jr. He begged the Cowboys’ front office to stop wasting time.
“Minshew would immediately elevate your Backup QB position,” Garza Jr. wrote, “and you could move on from one or two of the QBs on the roster to make room for other needs. He has starter experience, is cheap (on the last year of his rookie deal), and you can run a similar offense around him if Dak (Prescott) went down.”
Timm Hamm of Cowboys Country quickly shot down the trade idea, saying it didn’t make sense given how Dallas brass has gushed about Rush this offseason. Hamm also dropped an interesting nugget concerning Minshew’s personality: “Minshew does not have the best reputation as a locker room guy around the league.”
That comes as news to everyone in Philly. And Jacksonville. And Northwest Mississippi. And East Carolina.
“I love him,” Miles Sanders said after Minshew’s fill-in start on December 5. “Gardner’s a character. He’s cracking jokes in the huddle, but he loves to compete and you can see it. And he took this game very seriously. He didn’t come in as a backup. He looked at it like he was the guy and that’s what I expect out of him and he got us the W today.”
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Minshew Looking to Win Starting Job Somewhere
At one point last season, Minshew walked into head coach Nick Sirianni’s office and asked what he needed to do to take the starting job from Jalen Hurts, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen via Steve DelVecchio of Larry Brown Sports. That conversation was transparent and mutually beneficial, with both men walking away feeling heard. No drama, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jeff McLane.
“The guy is going to prepare like crazy, no matter what the situation, and he’s competitive,” Sirianni said of Minshew on January 6. “Of course, every backup that we have on this team, if they didn’t want to be the starter, I would have an issue with them being the backup.”
At this point, Minshew’s only path to QB1 snaps in Philly would involve Hurts getting injured. Hurts is coming off minor surgery for a left ankle sprain that limited his mobility in 2022. He missed only one game because of the injury but was clearly hobbled over the final five weeks.
Meanwhile, Minshew was the subject of trade speculation this offseason, but the Eagles decided to keep him rostered, according to a May 23 tweet from Jeremy Fowler. They might need him.
“All I can say is that I value Gardner Minshew very much,” Sirianni told reporters on March 29. “He helped us make the playoffs last year, right? With him being able to step in when Jalen was dinged and play a very good game against the Jets, I mean that just adds value to him. And that adds value to 31 other teams to him, but it also adds value to us as well. Knowing that you need good, quality backups and I’m sure glad that he’s our backup on our football team and I look forward to continuing to work with him.”
Carson Strong Emerging as Strong Backup Candidate
The Eagles’ signing of quarterback Carson Strong as an undrafted free agent was a sneaky good move given that he had once been seen as a possible first-round pick before undergoing two knee surgeries.
Strong threw for 4,175 yards and 36 touchdowns last season at Nevada while flashing off-the-charts leadership and “killer instinct.” And the 6-foot-3, 226-pounder has already been catching the eye of Sirianni.
“I thought he did a good job today. It’s a lot,” Sirianni said May 6 at rookie minicamp. “One thing I’m not impressed by is when a guy can come out and just call a play because there are a lot of guys that don’t call plays, right? And they are looking to the sideline. We call plays in the huddle. He was pretty smooth at that. That means he studied hard. He got ready for this day today.
“He was really sharp, and he knew what to do and he knew where to go with the football. He has a big arm, and you definitely can see that. Those are tools to work with. His size and arm strength is noticeable when he’s out there.”
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