FRISCO, Texas — At this stage, it appears Cooper Rush will make his fifth consecutive start for the Cowboys at quarterback.
Coach Mike McCarthy confirmed Wednesday morning the Cowboys are preparing for Rush to start against the Eagles on Sunday night with Dak Prescott out with a fractured thumb.
McCarthy said he considers Prescott to be in the rehab/medical phase of his recovery and that for the first time since suffering the injury on Sept. 11, he’ll throw passes lightly.
“Dak Prescott will be in the rehab group to start off [practice],” McCarthy said. “Then he’ll go through quarterback school and he will do some light throwing at the end of practice.”
Since taking over for Prescott, Rush has led the Cowboys to four straight wins. He’s thrown for 839 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions thus far this season.
Rush has probably his biggest game to date in facing the undefeated Eagles (5-0) on Sunday.
“I got a tremendous amount of confidence in Cooper Rush,” McCarthy said. “The most important focus for Cooper is to stay true to the plan. I think that’s a huge strength of his. We’re not going to ask him to go out there and throw it 60 times a game and those types of things. He’s very, very intelligent, instinctive, aware and [the Eagles’] defense is playing at a high level so there’s definitely some schematic challenges, particularly first and second down. So we got to be on top of that and the [pass rush] pressures is up compared to some teams we’ve played in the past, so we got to be on top of that.”
When it comes to Prescott, McCarthy said the starter will not work in any team drills but he will throw to his receivers. In the last few weeks, Prescott has worn a splint on his right thumb but McCarthy indicated that won’t be the case during Wednesday’s sessions.
“Frankly, I just want to see him throw today,” McCarthy said. “That’s where my head’s at.”
It’s undetermined if Prescott will be active on Sunday night as Rush’s backup. The goal for now is to get Prescott cleared to play in a game.
