If there was one thing in the world that Cowboys owner Jerry Jones loves to do, it's to stir up controversy with his words. From his takes on their draft strategy to why they added or got rid of certain players, the list is endless on the things that Jones has said that you can write a book on it– and call it “The Life of Jerryisms.”
All jokes aside, to no surprise, Jones created another controversy among the media and the fanbase on Thursday–when he brought up the idea of a QB dilemma if Rush were to keep winning.
And, of course, you had the Dak Prescott-haters come out of their shells and plead the team leaves Rush in if Jerry's premise of him winning many games materialized.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones entertained idea Cooper Rush could play well enough, team could win enough to force decision at QB when Dak Prescott able to return. “Wouldn't it be something if you had a dilemma as to which way to go?” You'd want that controversy? “Of course I would.” pic.twitter.com/oSXzHAMabk
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 22, 2022
While the words of Jones saying, “Of course, I would”–in regards to him wanting a QB controversy swept across social media and sports outlets, I'm here to tell any Prescott-haters, your dream of Rush starting over him isn't happening.
If you listened to the rest of the interview, Jones said he's a believer that Rush can play up-to-par as Prescott to put them in winning positions and tried to compare it to the time Prescott took over Tony Romo.
(It was more of a ramble from him on that topic.)
While those two situations are different, Jones added that they want Prescott back, that the team wants to win, and he didn't think Prescott would have performed so well when he took over Romo's gig and then used that metaphor to Rush playing well.
So, to sum it all up, the odds that Rush remains the starter are slim-to-none. I get fans can say, “Well, Rush moves the ball better.” or “He doesn't turn it over as much as Dak.” But do you really think the team is going to say, “You know what, let's bench our $40 million-dollar quarterback”?
Add in that HC Mike McCarthy said Prescott is their quarterback, and there is no controversy–it's hard to justify the team keeping Rush in regardless if he goes undefeated while Dak is out.
And while fans may point out that Rush moved the ball better than Prescott in the next game, and some have even thrown out the “we can trade him for picks” idea, I have a rebuttal for you.
First is that Rush didn't play the Bucs until the end, and he couldn't put points on the board. While people can point to him putting points against the Bengals, the drop-off between those two defenses is massive.
You had Eli Apple, the most-scrutinized cornerback from the Super Bowl, getting burnt out there, and Rush thrived in the short and intermediate passing games–as his players made plays yards after the catch.
Also, the running game surprisingly looked good against a stout Bengals defensive line, so it took off pressure on Rush.
I understand that Prescott had the same personnel in Week One, so the argument could be made as to why he couldn't get it done, but the Bucs defense showed up, and the Cowboys offense didn't.
Plain and simple.
And lastly, how does the franchise justify Prescott's trade value? Recently, you saw the trades of QBs Russell Wilson and Deshaun Watson spit out a plethora of first and second-round picks from opposing teams.
Do the Cowboys try to trade Prescott and tell other GMs that he's in the same realm as those two quarterbacks talent-wise? I doubt it. Because talent-wise, he's not up there with them.
I'm not claiming Prescott as the best quarterback in the NFL because I agree that he has his limitations. However, it's a sticky situation if you were trying to move him and attempting to tell yourself and the media that Rush is the QB of the future.
See, I would understand if the team felt he wasn't the one and tried to move him for multiple picks and packaged those to draft one of the top QBs in the 2023 NFL Draft. But, for now, Prescott is the guy, and he will be there until otherwise.
So, while Rush has surprised me and the fanbase by gutting out a victory, it's a great situation to have your backup QB step up when needed. But I'm SELLING hard on any QB controversy.
If anything, Jones' words should light a fire under Prescott as everyone has seen him struggle at points and look like a shell of himself. While injuries have occurred and personnel changes have also happened, Prescott needs to step up as the leader.
Because although I did reiterate how difficult it would be to trade him, it would be the most Cowboys-move to see them move on from a franchise player.
I can already picture Jerry (Jones) saying,” We did what was best for the team, and we felt good about Rush.” Then he would add how genius their front office was for finding Prescott as a fourth-round talent, add a veteran QB like former Cowboys Quarterback Andy Dalton in free agency, and draft another QB.
Life as a Cowboys fan is fun, right?
