The Cowboys reportedly plan to stand pat and are “unlikely” to pursue a “significant trade” for a quarterback following the injury to starter Dak Prescott during Sunday night’s Week 1 loss to the Buccaneers, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
“As of now, Cowboys do not plan to pursue significant trade for a QB barring unforeseen change, per source,” Fowler wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “Cowboys won’t take any possibility completely off table, but with Dak Prescott’s improved timeline and Cooper Rush’s familiarity with offense, team feels it can be patient.”
The latest report about Dallas’s plan behind center comes after owner Jerry Jones expressed newfound optimism about Prescott’s recovery timeline during an interview on 105.3 The Fan Tuesday morning. Jones revealed that the Cowboys would not place the two-time Pro Bowl on injured reserve because the team believes he will have the chance to play within the next four games.
Prescott was previously expected to be on a six-to-eight week recovery timeline after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured right thumb, according to ESPN’s Todd Archer.
“I think what we’re going to do here is we won’t be putting him on IR, which means we want him to be in consideration for playing within the next four games,” Jones said, per Jori Epstein of USA Today Sports.
He added, “Dak has a real chance to be back out there throwing the ball pretty quick,” per ESPN’s Todd Archer.
With the more optimistic return timeline and apparent confidence in backup Cooper Rush, the Cowboys seem content to move forward with their current quarterback room, at least for the time being. The decision to do so is somewhat contradictory to what coach Mike McCarthy said on Monday when he implied that the team was anticipating the need to make roster moves to address the void behind center as soon as Tuesday.
He also added he had a list of every available signal-caller in the league with him at the time of his press conference, according to NFL Network’s Jane Slater.
“We’ll look at those things. We definitely anticipate making some roster moves, maybe by tomorrow.” McCarthy said Monday when asked if the Cowboys will make any changes to the roster to replace Prescott, per WFAA’s Mike Leslie.
If Prescott were to return in four games, he would have the chance to square off against the reigning Super Bowl champion Rams on Oct. 9. However, the Cowboys must first put their focus on last year’s league runner-ups as they host Joe Burrow the Bengals at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
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