Don Meredeth, Roger Staubach, Danny White, Troy Aikman, Tony Romo… The Dallas Cowboys franchise has been fortunate throughout history in that they have rarely gone many years without a legitimate franchise quarterback. The current Dallas Cowboys quarterback, former 4th round pick Dak Prescott, has established himself as the next in line and is due for a significant pay raise. Prescott is not without his critics, but popular opinion is that he will get a $30+ million dollar contract and that he is well deserving of it thanks to an inflated QB market. How will he respond when he goes from underpaid mid round draft pick to the highest paid player in the history of the franchise?
I believe Dak Prescott he will handle the pressure well, his leadership will prevail, and that his best is yet to come. Prescott’s hard work and dedication combined with a fresh new offensive coordinator will result in his best statistical season, at least in terms of passing yards and touchdowns. I am not worried about Dak Prescott unlike some non-believers and haters out there among Cowboys Nation. What I am worried about is the depth behind him.
Former undrafted free agent Cooper Rush and 2018 5th round pick Mike White are the two players battling out for the backup role for the Dallas Cowboys quarterback. Neither of them have showed much promise up to this point in their careers and I am not optimistic either one of them will. I do have to remind myself that training camp is just around the corner and there is an opportunity for one of these guys to step up and win the job. That is exactly what happened in 2016 when Dak Prescott was thrust into the starting role after injuries to Kellen Moore and Tony Romo. If neither one of these guys can get it together then the Cowboys may be forced to seek a veteran free agent that may become available after roster cuts. The last time that happened was the Matt Cassell/Brandon Wheedon fiasco of 2015.
If I were to guess which current Dallas Cowboys quarterback were to emerge and win the back up job my choice would be Cooper Rush. Although Mike White has an advantage being a coveted draft pick who is still on his rookie deal, I have more faith in Cooper Rush rediscovering the confidence that he displayed when he won the backup job in 2017. Needless to say, the hope is that Dak Prescott remains as healthy as he has been his entire career and the problem of QB depth continues to be a non-ssue.
*Photo by Kieth Allison https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode