The backup quarterback role is not everyone’s favorite battle to follow, but as of the last few days, I’ve dialed in on Cooper Rush and Will Grier, and have to admit, this may be closer than I thought.
I’ll be the first to tell you I am a big fan of Rush and thought nobody had a shot to test him for the backup QB spot on the depth chart for the Cowboys. That was until Grier made noise the last few days.
Grier had a solid day Friday in training camp. He made some tight window throws, including the “play of the day,” on a throw to the back of the end zone where TJ Vasher came down with an impressive one-handed touchdown catch.
Big-time catch from TJ Vasher to finish practice pic.twitter.com/o0N4rDAcpf
— Rob Phillips (@robphillips3) July 29, 2022
Even with an impressive day from Grier, does anyone think it’s enough to continue to push Rush for the backup role? Rush stepped in a season ago on the road at Minnesota when Dak Prescott missed a week and took care of business. You would have to think this would need to continue throughout the rest of camp, even into the first handful of preseason games, if Grier wants a real shot at QB2.
Cooper Rush winning a game for the Cowboys in spot duty last year is an awfully big feather in his cap, and makes him hard to unseat as the Cowboys backup quarterback.
But Will Grier has done some nice things early on in this camp, that make him an intriguing guy to watch.
— Mike Leslie (@MikeLeslieWFAA) July 30, 2022
It’s fun to watch someone force Rush into a situation where he can’t be comfortable thinking nobody will compete for his backup role.
Grier comes from West Virginia, and although he did not impress in his brief stint in Carolina, in those three seasons with the mountaineers, Grier totaled 8,556 passing yards and 81 touchdowns. During his senior season in 2018 he threw for 3,864 yards and 37 of those 81 touchdowns. He can definitely sling the football, but once some get to this level, a bit changes.
This is not my main focus at all. It is an afterthought for me as to who wins this battle. I think It will be Rush, and it should be as he has shown he can step in and win a big game on the road if something happens to Prescott, but I thought it would be fun to point out a couple of solid things I saw from Grier the first week. Again, let me be clear it would take a huge push from Grier to take the job from Rush.
I like Greer. He has more upside. Rush is a good guy, did decent against the Vikings, but he’s still limited. I’d take the upside risk and keep Greer. I’d put Rush on practice squad, nobody will claim him.
With Garrett out of the league, you could put him on the couch and be fairly certain nobody would claim him.
I don’t think that’s the case or a bare minimum we can say he’s “limited” and Grier has more upside. Rush hasn’t really had alot of opportunity to play and when he has the game never seemed too big or fast for him. That cool with his plus arm talent, I think he could still be a hidden gem. Grier has talent that we all seen in college but hasn’t looked the same at this level when he has played. I like the competition but if we learned anything from Romo and Danny White it’s that a Backup can look like a backup until they are no longer stuck behind a stud on the bench.
Grier has not really gotten a fair look “at this level” as his only playing time was with Carolina in trash time games at the end of the season and a seriously deficient line. Greg Olsen commented at the time about Grier not having a chance at success given the opportunity. Grier, given the opportunity, could be a top 15 starter in this league.
I’ve said from day one Grier can be another Romo. Panthers should have kept him. Watched every game he played going back to his days at Davidson in NC. Give him a couple of years and he might be pushing Dak.
The way I see it is to be a true SB contender you need a backup QB that can come in if your staring QB goes down and led your team without missing a beat! In my opinion we don’t have that now! We need a battle tested NFL veteran that knows what it takes to win in this league and we just don’t have that now!!
Problem with Rush is that Moore seems to not think enough of him to stop from shrinking the playbook when Rush is in the lineup. We don’t know if that would also be the case with Grier yet, but it’s pretty obvious with Rush (and maybe Moore himself is the problem?). This team needs a backup to whom the playbook should largely remain in place.