The last time Dak Prescott suffered a significant injury, the Dallas Cowboys finished the season 6-10. That was with a proven veteran backup, Andy Dalton, ready to take the helm in his absence.
Prescott is slated to miss time again after exiting a 19-3 opening night loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a hand injury. X-rays showed a potential fracture that will require surgery. That places an estimated recovery period that ranges from four to eight weeks, possibly keeping him out through the team’s Week 9 bye. Dallas will likely stare down opponents like the Cincinnati Bengals, Los Angeles Rams and possibly the Philadelphia Eagles without their QB1.
There’s no Andy Dalton option at QB2. Prescott’s backup is Cooper Rush, a player the team had no concern about being claimed off waivers at the roster cutdown date. Rush threw 13 of his 63 career NFL passes Sunday night. He’s 1-0 as an NFL starter but probably not what Jerry Jones had in mind for his Week 2 showdown with the reigning AFC champions.
Dak Prescott (hand) will be out for a while, according to Jerry Jones. Several weeks. He needs surgery
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 12, 2022
Prescott wasn’t the only significant injury Dallas faced Sunday night. Starting left guard Connor McGovern will miss 4-6 weeks with a lower body injury and safety Jayron Kearse left the locker room on crutches.
His is absolutely the most impactful, however. Here’s how Jones can find a temporary fix, either via trade or sifting through the remnants of a picked-over free agent marketplace.
1
Jimmy Garoppolo, San Francisco 49ers
Trey Lance was awful in his 2022 debut against the Chicago Bears. That’s unlikely to change head coach Kyle Shanahan’s opinion that he’s the Niners’ QB1 going forward.
That leaves Garoppolo as the NFL’s top backup option. After trimming his salary down to $6.5 million this season, he’s a reasonably paid one as well. That restructuring came with a no-trade clause, but the veteran passer may jump at the chance to restore his value with a string of guaranteed starts — even with a depleted receiving corps and offensive line in Dallas.
Garoppolo isn’t perfect, but he beat this Cowboys team in Arlington in last year’s playoffs and is 33-14 as a starter in the regular season. We’ve seen Jones pay a premium via in-season trade to boost his offense before when he shipped a first round pick to Oakland to acquire a disinterested Amari Cooper from the Raiders. Garoppolo’s contract expires in 2023, so he wouldn’t be a long-term threat to the recently-extended Prescott. As far as plug-and-play options, he’s the best the Cowboys are going to get.
Of course, the Niners know that too. They’ll be holding out for a proper return for their high value backup — assuming he’d waive his no-trade clause to swap uniforms.
2
Teddy Bridgewater, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins expended a bunch of draft capital to acquire Tyreek Hill — 2022 first, second and fourth-round picks as well as 2023 fourth and sixth-rounders. They could recoup some of that investment and send a signal they believe in Tua Tagovailoa by sending Bridgewater back to the NFC.
Bridgewater has been an above-average quarterback as a starter the past two seasons. He ranks 14th among 44 qualified passers in completion percentage over expected (CPOE) and expected points added (EPA) in that stretch:
He signed a one-year, $6.5 million deal to back up Tagovailoa this spring, knowing full well the young quarterback had missed 10 games the last two seasons and wasn’t a sure thing to run with Miami’s starting job this fall. But Tagovailoa impressed by showcasing an immediate connection with Tyreek Hill and dicing up the Patriots in a 20-7 Week 1 win.
That makes Bridgewater a little more expendable. So does the preseason success of rookie seventh-round pick Skylar Thompson, who looks like a viable developmental quarterback after recording a league-best 138.4 passer rating in three exhibition games.
Bridgewater isn’t exciting, but he excels in a fill-in role for a team with built-in playoff aspirations. He was 5-0 as a starter in relief of Drew Brees with the Saints in 2019. He could be similarly uplifting in Dallas if the Cowboys are willing to restock the Dolphins’ draft chest.
3
Gardner Minshew, Philadelphia Eagles
Minshew is a moderately cheap backup quarterback who provides a high floor of play. Urban Meyer didn’t understand the value that brings in the NFL, but the Eagles probably do. Philadelphia may be hesitant to deal him away, even with Jalen Hurts accounting for 333 total yards in his 2022 debut.
If the Eagles can be persuaded, Dallas would receive a quarterback who ranked 21st out of the aforementioned starting QBs in CPOE+EPA over the past two years. Minshew is a proficient field-stretching rocket launcher who has completed 44 percent of his passes 20+ yards downfield the last three seasons (Prescott, for comparison, clocks in at 41 percent for his career but 47 percent since 2019).
He also went 6-6 as a rookie fill-in for a Jaguars team that lost Nick Foles early in ’19 and wound up 6-10 on the season. He’s capable of making due in a pinch, though asking him to acclimate to a new offense and roster in a matter of days may be a big ask.
Would Philadelphia deal him when he’s only making $2.5 million this fall? He’s on the last year of his rookie contract, so there’s some value in trading him for a draft pick if the Eagles have no plans for him in the future. It feels like a longshot, but it also feels as though Jones will eagerly explore every available avenue to fix his problem.
4
Case Keenum or Matt Barkley, Buffalo Bills
The first instinct when it comes to Bills backups would be Case Keenum. Keenum, a native Texan, came in as a backup and lifted the Minnesota Vikings to the NFC title game in 2017. That was five years ago, of course, and he was kinda butt in the preseason; he had a 1:3 touchdown:interception ratio in 49 exhibition passes this summer.
If that doesn’t float Jones’ boat, Dallas could instead pluck Barkley from Buffalo’s practice squad and sign him to the active roster. This would have the added benefit of not costing any trade compensation.
Barkley is less than ideal; he’s 32 years old, has started seven games in his NFL career and didn’t make a regular season appearance in 2021. He had an impressive start in a win over the Jets in 2018 and that’s pretty much his highlight reel from the last five years. He’s turnover prone but, to his credit, doesn’t shy away from big plays; he’s averaged nearly 15 yards per catch in his four years as a Bill.
Is he better than Rush? It’s debatable! But Rush will need a backup if that’s the call, and you could do worse than Barklet.
The price is right on Barkley. Keenum is the better player. Neither is ideal.
5
Cam Newton, free agent
The pickings are slim on the free agent/practice squad market now that the regular season has already started. Newton is arguably the best option in a group that includes Josh Johnson, Logan Woodside, Tim Boyle and Nathan by-god Peterman.
Newton has been here before. He re-joined the Panthers last year when their starting quarterback Sam Darnold — also likely available should Dallas be extremely, wildly desperate — went down with an injury midway through the season. The results were unfortunate, to say the least.
Asking for the old, MVP-version of Newton to return is a pipe dream. Placing him in a stable offense, however, could return useful but modest results. His EPA/play was slightly better than Dalton’s in 2020 and he completed nearly two thirds of his passes despite a receiving corps anchored by second-year Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd and N’Keal Harry in New England.
Still, that’s pretty bad. The Cowboys are stuck in a rough scene without Prescott and there’s no guarantee any of these guys will be able to adjust to a new offense and be any better than Rush behind center. Dallas is in real trouble without Prescott, but fortunately it’s a down year for the NFC and a minimal absence may not cost the ‘Boys a playoff berth.
It’ll probably be the difference between winning the NFC East and an 18th straight year without a repeat division champion, however.
