With the preseason officially over, it’s time for the Dallas Cowboys to finalize their 53-man roster. One of the most intriguing decisions the team faced was who will be the primary backup to starting Quarterback Dak Prescott for the 2021 season.
There wasn’t one quarterback behind Prescott that significantly outperformed the others. However, the Cowboys made it clear on Tuesday morning who they trust the most. According to ESPN’s Todd Archer, Garrett Gilbert and Ben DiNucci have been released, leaving Cooper Rush as the No. 2 quarterback on the roster.
Garrett Gilbert has been released, according to a source. Ben DiNucci also released. This leaves Cooper Rush as the No. 2 to Dak Prescott at the moment, Gilbert could be back on the practice squad. Perhaps DiNucci.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 31, 2021
Gilbert is who many felt would win backup duties based on what was seen in 2020 after Prescott went down with a season-ending ankle injury. He went 21 of 38 for 243 yards and a touchdown (also threw an interception) in his only start against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Week 9 loss. During the preseason, he went 28 out of 50 for 301 yards, but it was Rush’s 10 out 12 for 97 yards and two touchdowns against the Houston Texans that allowed him to leapfrog Gilbert.
DiNucci’s release was the excepted move of the two. He struggled mightily as a rookie in the absence of Prescott. The seventh-round pick went 21 out of 40 for 180 yards and had two fumbles in his lone start against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 8. His preseason work in 2021 wasn’t all that great either. He finished 35 out of 66 for 348 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions. What ultimately sealed DiNucci’s fate was a three-interception performance against the Texans.
Gilbert and DiNucci could end up on the practice squad. However, as it currently stands, their time in Dallas is over.
It pains me to say this but with the Patriots releasing CN he would be a solid back up to Dak and make us A LOT more stable at the back up QB position!
Certainly very intriguing CF Ed, but I doubt they do it. Makes too much sense. I would not mind at all, but he may want to be a starter only.
Pats may have gotten the best QB in the draft in Jones. Someone was making all those passes to Waddle, and Smith, ETC.
Yep Vam looks like the Pats have someone in their Organization that can recognize talent! We haven’t had that luxury since Jimmy Johnson left!
I cannot believe the news of releasing these two guys made it on the NFL website. Amazing that a guy like DiNucci has garnered a headline. The power of the Star prevails again!
This would have never happened with Darrel Royal running the boys! No sir, these two would have been some of James Streets best back-ups ever! It would have taken a lot of work on De Natchos part to practice holding on to the ball but it would have given him the time to practice with no passing game to worry about. Cause from what I see were right at the bleeding edge of the Wishbones triumphant return to the NFL’s top offense! I wish Jerry could have held back his commander’s lack of visionary wisdom for a couple more years so we could see the fruition and culmination of the Jones grand design to see the triple option carrying the Lombardi trophy into the star one last time before we all kick! After dragging Jimmy and the other T- Bone loving Jasper from Oklahoma through 3 out of 4 Super Bowl wins he decided to take a 28 year sabbatical from GM mastery and tried to find people that could understand his and learn his genius without making any decisions about the team we all love by himself. None of the people proved capable after his almost 30 hands off approach that he finally took back the reins 2 years ago by sneaking the first part of his brilliant plan by signing three supposed incompétent to the team and with our next Superbowl win only 4 months from the grasp of all the dying (literally) Cowboys fans, they pulled the rug out from under us! By letting go of our two saviors, Dallas will never be called the Wishbone Capital of these United States of the NFL!!! Whaaah! Whaaah! ❤!