DALLAS — Cooper Rush doesn’t play often.
But he’s played enough over the past two seasons to establish his worth.
Rush will continue to serve as the Cowboys backup quarterback after agreeing to a two-year contract, the team announced.
The deal will be worth $6 million, a person familiar with the contract said. He will receive a guarantee of $2.75 million in 2023 to continue to work behind Dak Prescott.
Rush took over after Prescott was injured in last year’s opener. He led the team to a 4-1 record as the starter and kept the team afloat until Prescott returned against Detroit in late October.
Rush finished the season completing 94 of 162 passes for 1,051 yards with five touchdown passes and three interceptions. He got rid of the ball in an average of 2.4 seconds, a quick release bettered by only Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady and Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow.
Rush has only one other start in his NFL career. That came on the road in Minnesota during the 2021 season. He threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns and led the team on a 13-play, 75-yard drive in the final three minutes for a comeback win.
That means Rush threw seven touchdown passes in his first six starts with the franchise. Tony Romo, Danny White and Craig Morton are the only quarterbacks in franchise history to surpass that total.
Poise is one of the first qualities head coach Mike McCarthy and teammates mention when talking about Rush. It was one of the first things that Jason Garrett, who spent nine-plus seasons as the Cowboys head coach, noticed in 2017 when the quarterback out of Central Michigan signed with Dallas.
But Rush is more than calm in the midst of chaos during a game. He’s decisive. It’s something he consistently writes in his notes.
“Decisiveness and conviction,” Rush said. “If you do that at the quarterback position, if you’re trusting your instincts, you’re usually right.
“I think that’s a big thing. We struggle when we start to second guess. Being decisive is something you’re always reminding yourself about.”
Rush has gotten stronger physically since entering the league. But he knows why he wasn’t drafted. He knows tape of his workouts, whether it was throwing routes on air or displaying his mobility, weren’t going to turn many heads in the NFL.
What Rush does is play smart and within the system.
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Staff Writer Michael Gehlken contributed to this report.
