The Dallas Cowboys (3-7) are off to their worst 10-game start to a season since 2020, when they also started 3-7. The common thread is that quarterback Dak Prescott suffered season-ending injuries in both seasons, fracturing his ankle in 2020 and tearing his hamstring in 2024.
Dallas has opted to sign eight-year veteran backup Cooper Rush in Prescott’s absence this year. Despite losing by a combined score of 68-16 in their two starts in Week 10 against Philadelphia and Week 11 against the Houston Texans, they are continue with him as a starter in Week 12 at the Washington Commanders, a Reunion game with former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. who is now the coach of Washington. The Cowboys will also have packages for backup quarterback Trey Lance, the San Francisco 49ers’ third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft whom they acquired for the price of a fourth-round pick at the end of the 2023 preseason. They also added veteran Will Grier to be their third emergency quarterback, but Dallas, along with the other 31 NFL teams, has the opportunity to add a six-year veteran. the NFL with plenty of starting experience in quarterback Daniel Jones.
The New York Giants released Jones on Friday After benching him for Tommy DeVito, CBS Sports asked Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy about the possibility of adding Jones just before Dallas plays New York on Thanksgiving Day Week 13. If Dallas did so, it would provide the NFL world with maximum Turkey Day drama, but McCarthy indicated such a move likely won’t happen.
“I’ve never really been in the business of looking at players based on what team they come from, especially with the timing of the next game,” McCarthy said on a conference call Friday. “He was a prospect I really liked, but right now we’ve got our heads down and really focused on working with the guys we have here.”
Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones echoed McCarthy’s sentiments when asked about the possibility of Jones coming to Dallas.
“No, I think we’re in good shape at our quarterback position,” Jones said. “We think Cooper (Rush) gives us the best chance to win right now. And we certainly still want to see something. We’ll see how the season goes here. We still want to see (Trey) Lance and what he brings to the table and then “Of course, in the long term, we all know that we made our commitment to Dak (Prescott) for the long term.”
The Giants made Jones the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Duke, and his highest mark came in 2022, the first season under current coach Brian Daboll. Jones produced career highs in passing yards (3,205), passing yards per attempt (6.8) and passer rating (92.5). He also threw a career-low five interceptions that season en route to the Giants going 9-6-1 and reaching the postseason. Daboll won the NFL Coach of the Year award that season, and Jones helped lead New York to a road victory in the NFC wild-card round against the Minnesota Vikings. He threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns on 24-of-35 passing, and added another 78 yards rushing on 17 carries. Jones is the only player in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards and multiple touchdowns while rushing for at least 70 yards in a single postseason game.
Throughout his career, he has been plagued by turnovers and inefficiency. His 73 turnovers since entering the NFL in 2019 are tied for fifth-most in the league in that span despite missing the final 11 games of the 2023 season with a torn ACL. Among the 28 NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passes thrown since Jones entered the NFL in 2019, his career passer rating of 84.3 ranks second-worst, ahead only of his 82.3 passer rating. by Sam Darnold. The Giants are off to a 2-8 start this season with Jones ranking last in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 10 starts in both touchdown passes (eight) and passer rating (79.4).
