FRISCO, Texas — Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy threw his full support behind eight-year, veteran backup Cooper Rush to be the team’s starting quarterback with Dak Prescott headed to injured reserve with a hamstring injury.
However, there is a case to be made that it’s worth either starting Trey Lance or at the very least getting the 2021 NFL Draft’s third overall pick on the field in some capacity for the 3-5 Cowboys after they traded a fourth-round pick to acquire the uber-athletic 24-year-old at the end of the 2023 preseason. On Wednesday, McCarthy made it clear he didn’t have packages for Lance on his mind earlier this week.
“Let’s be practical here. I think you have to — Cooper, it’s his opportunity,” McCarthy said on Wednesday when asked if the Cowboys will have packages for Trey Lance. … “It’s important not only for Cooper but for this team to get these padded full practices in. We’re in a full seven-day stretch. Not only does Cooper need to get ready to play but we’ve got some — Micah [Parsons] needs to get ready to play. We need to practice the right way. I come in here every week and talk about the importance of the continuity and continue to stay and get that connection that you need with all of these guys. That’s very, very evident from Cooper, from the starting quarterback position.”
Then, Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones said the exact opposite in a radio appearance on Friday, going to bat for Lance and the potential impact he could have to provide juice to the NFL’s 20th-ranked scoring offense (21.4 points per game).
“Oh there is a window for Trey Lance,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan, via ESPN, on Friday. “There’s packages that we can work on. … Let me be clear that’s not just to get Lance some playtime. That’s to bring to the table some offense for us.”
McCarthy tap-danced around directly addressing Jones’ remarks initially on his Friday afternoon conference call, but he did cede some ground that he is getting Lance ready for all scenarios since he is one injury away from getting on the field.
“I haven’t talked to Jerry this morning, but we got to have Cooper [Rush] ready,” McCarthy said on a conference call on Friday. “We got to have Trey ready and frankly we’re spending some time before our walk in here and then make sure the third quarterback is ready. That’s the due diligence you always go through when you do have an injury to your starter. We’re making sure that we have packages in order that we make sure we’re ready for everything.”
He then dished out a sarcastic, humorous quip about how his entire game plan will look come Sunday afternoon against the 6-2 Philadelphia Eagles.
“I’m still finalizing the first 15 [plays],” McCarthy said. “I actually talked about the offense this morning. As soon as I get it over to Jerry, I’ll send you a copy also.”
