Getty Seahawks general manager John Schneider (left) and head coach Pete Carroll appear to have won the Russell Wilson trade.
Time will tell how the Seattle Seahawks season will turn out, but chances are the team has yet to find a long-term solution at quarterback. One potential free-agent option is emerging for 2023 as Cowboys quarterback Cooper Rush continues to impress when given an opportunity to take the field.
Rush is now a perfect 2-0 during his starts for Dallas in Dak Prescott’s absence. The veteran quarterback was just signed to the Cowboys 53-man roster after being on the practice squad and will be a free agent this coming offseason. Similar to what the Seahawks did by signing Matt Flynn in 2012, Rush would represent an affordable option who could compete to be the team’s starting quarterback in 2023. This signing would not preclude Seattle from also selecting a quarterback in the draft just as the Seahawks did with Russell Wilson during that same offseason.
Rush threw for 235 yards and one touchdown while completing 61.2% of his passes in the Cowboys’ upset win over the Bengals. The Dallas quarterback had even more impressive numbers in other start against the Vikings on October 31, 2021 as he threw the game-winning touchdown with 51 seconds remaining. Rush threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while completing 60% of his throws against Minnesota.
The Cowboys Maintained the Same Offensive Game Plan With Rush
Cooper Rush in the Cowboys’ 20-17 W 🔥
19/31
235 YDS
1 TD
Game-winning drive
2-0 as a starter 👀
Two games is too small of a sample size to determine whether Rush can be a team’s long-term solution at quarterback. Prescott is expected to miss four to six weeks which should give Rush an opportunity to create a larger body of work for interested teams to assess. If Rush continues to perform at a high level, the Cowboys could find it challenging to re-sign the quarterback given the team has already committed $160 million to Prescott.
The Cowboys had so much confidence in Rush that the team opted not to make a move for an additional quarterback after Prescott’s injury. Heading into Week 2, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy noted the team was able to keep the same offensive game plan Dallas had with Prescott under center.
“As far as Cooper Rush, we don’t feel like there’s really any limitations on what we want to do,” McCarthy emphasized during a September 15 press conference. “He’s as rehearsed in this offense as anybody. Him and Kellen, they go back to prior to when I got here and that’s really the way we go about it. And it’s no different with the left guard, the left tackle — that’s all part of the game-plan process.”
The 2023 Quarterback Class Has Underwhelmed Early in the College Football Season
Alabama’s Bryce Young and Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud continue to headline the quarterback class heading into the 2023 NFL draft. If the Seahawks are unable to select either of these two players, the team could face a challenge in finding their future QB1 via the draft.
Outside of these consensus top two signal-callers, the rest of the group of quarterback prospects have struggled to find consistency. The jury is still out on whether Kentucky’s Will Levis, Florida’s Anthony Richardson, Miami’s Tyler Van Dyke or other quarterbacks can solidify themselves as first-round players. ESPN’s Mel Kiper believes Van Dyke may need another year of college football for development rather than declaring for the draft.
“Is Tyler Van Dyke ready for the NFL?” Kiper wrote on September 19. “Let me preface this by saying he was missing his top wide receiver (Xavier Restrepo) on Saturday, but I would not be surprised if the Miami quarterback forgoes the 2023 draft and plays another college season. He’s only a third-year sophomore and was making only his 12th career start in the 17-9 loss at Texas A&M. He does not look fully comfortable in new coordinator Josh Gattis’ offense.
“Van Dyke has all the tools — big arm, touch, accuracy — but he’s still raw. What I’ve seen through three games tells me he could use more seasoning, which could help him to be the top signal-caller in the 2024 class.”