The 2024 NFL season is only getting worse for the Dallas Cowboys. On Tuesday, team owner Jerry Jones confirmed that Dak Prescott will be sidelined for the rest of the year as the quarterback will undergo season-ending hamstring surgery in New York.
And while head coach Mike McCarthy announced that Cooper Rush will continue to serve as the Cowboys starting quarterback with Trey Lance as his backup, the latest update on Prescott forced the team to add depth at the position.
The Cowboys have signed veteran quarterback Will Grier to the practice squad, the team’s Public Relations Department announced. Grier, 29, was a free agent after being released by the Philadelphia Eagles on November 7. But he’s a familiar face for the Cowboys.
A third-round pick out of West Virginia in 2019, Grier spent his first two years in the NFL with the Carolina Panthers before landing in Dallas in 2021. That season, he served as the team’s third-string quarterback behind Prescott and Rush, replacing Ben DiNucci.
Will Grier #15 of the Dallas Cowboys passes the ball in the second half against the Las Vegas Raiders in a preseason game at AT&T Stadium on August 26, 2023 in Arlington, Texas.
In the 2022 NFL season, Grier was Rush’s backup for five games as Prescott recovered from a fractured thumb. He never got to see the field though, and ended up being released when the Cowboys traded for Lance in August 2023. Now, he’s giving Dallas more depth behind Rush and Lance, with defensive back Emany Johnson being released from the practice squad to make room for Grier.
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Shortly after McCarthy confirmed that Rush will start for the Cowboys against the Houston Texans in Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season, Jones defended the team’s decision to keep Lance on the bench.
“Because Cooper (Rush) has shown that he has the capability to compete and win games. And he does give us our best chance,” Jones said on “105.3 The FAN” when asked why Rush will remain as starter ahead of Lance. Frankly that was really an out of character game for him based on what we’ve seen.”
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Rush left a lot to be desired last time out, completing 13 of 23 passes for just 45 yards as the Cowboys suffered an embarrassing 34-6 loss to the Eagles at home. Still, Jones defended the quarterback by claiming that’s not his true version.
“He was not the Cooper Rush we know. A lot of things went wrong for us out there (Sunday). He can play better than that,” Jones said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic.
