It will be interesting to see if the Cowboys bring Cooper Rush back in 2025.
The 2025 offseason is well underway for the Dallas Cowboys, who’ve just gone through a sweeping change in their coaching staff. But the moves that really get us excited, in good and bad ways, come when they start dealing with the players. Over the next two weeks, we’ll get you ready for this year’s potential roster changes with our position preview series.
Today, we start at the top with the quarterbacks. While movement may be relatively slow here compared to other positions, its importance and spotlight will still command attention. Given that Cooper Rush started 13 games in the last three years, and with Prescott turning 32 this spring, how Dallas handles its backup spots will be a significant talking point.
Under Contract
Dak Prescott, Will Grier
Potential Departures
Cooper Rush, Trey Lance
As far as Cowboys’ offseason topics go, the quarterback position is an odd one. While there’s no question who the starter will be, Dak Prescott is coming off a down year and still has the biggest contract in NFL history. It keeps him in constant conversation, whether on how his play will affect the team on the field or how his money will affect other offseason business.
For better or worse, the Cowboys are still married to Prescott for at least a couple more seasons. 2027 is the first year that offers significant salary cap relief if Prescott is released, and that’s only if they don’t do any restructuring to the deal between now and then. So for all the debates about Prescott’s ability to win or which tier of NFL passers he falls on, it doesn’t change that he’s QB1 in Dallas for now.
The more tangible uncertainty comes further down the depth chart. Cooper Rush and Trey Lance are both approaching unrestricted free agency, leaving Will Grier as the only other passer currently signed for 2025. We know Dallas is fond of Grier, but enough to make him the next man up should Prescott suffer another injury? That would seem brazen given how often they’ve had to turn to Rush in recent years.
There’s also the question of when the Cowboys start planning for life after Prescott. The Lance trade was the first forward-thinking move we’ve seen at quarterback during his tenure, albeit without the desired results. Now that the organization appears disinterested in Lance, do they look to add a new prospect from this year’s draft class, or some other source, to the QB pipeline?
Free Agency
Other than potentially re-signing one of their own in Rush or Lance, the Cowboys aren’t likely to do much here. Top names on the market like Sam Darnold and Justin Fields will be looking for starting opportunities or at least competitions. Maybe you consider guys like Jameis Winston or Marcus Mariota as upgrades for QB2, but will Dallas spend more for it? They both made nearly double what Rush did in 2024.
Another thought; will Brian Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and Steve Shimko like a chance to work with Trey Lance for a year? Maybe Mike McCarthy was part of the problem as to why Lance didn’t find traction in Dallas. If the front office agrees, perhaps they give Lance a one-year deal to return and see what happens. You know they’d love to feel like they got more for that fourth-round pick, even if it was just a solid backup.
2025 NFL Draft
Outside of trading for Lance two years ago, the only other investments Dallas had made at QB during Prescott’s run were drafting Mike White (fifth round) in 2018 and Ben DiNucci (seventh round) in 2020. These were at very different points in Prescott’s career with only the backup job in view.
It would be perfectly reasonable for the Cowboys to take a different approach now. Prescott’s entering his 10th year and, more concerningly, has missed significant portions of three of the last five seasons. While it’s a little too early to compare him to Tony Romo in 2016, we’re far enough down that road that having a potential replacement in the wings is worth considering.
This is a weak QB class overall in 2025, so maybe it’s not the year to strike. The Cowboys have so many other needs throughout the roster that they should probably focus on stronger position groups and save QB for a better class. But you never know how Will McClay’s crew might feel about a certain prospect, and if the value presents itself on Day 3 then it’s certainly possible that they’ll get them into the system.
Final Thoughts
As it should, your opinion of Dak Prescott drives most of your overall feelings regarding the QB position and even the team as a whole. For those who’ve given up on him, this isn’t going to be a fun offseason. And even if you still believe that he can be the starter for a contender, there’s no denying that the Cowboys will have to do some significant work to put sufficient talent around him.
When it comes to those offseason tasks, figuring out QB2 is no small matter. Re-signing Rush seems the most likely move for both price and continuity, but he should have some suitors in free agency given his win-loss record. Whether Dallas looks to him or another seasoned veteran, or goes younger with Lance or a drafted rookie, may tell us something about their perceived shelf life for Prescott.
