5 Cowboys quarterback options if Dak Prescott's hamstring injury takes long to heal

The Dallas Cowboys' trying 2024 season found its latest obstacle. Jerry Jones's team, dealing with an inefficient offense, lame duck head coach and defense riddled with injury, will have to make its playoff push without Dak Prescott for at least a few weeks thanks to a reported hamstring strain.

That's a concern that will push Mike McCarthy, a head coach not traditionally known for great in-season adjustments, to make changes. We know who the first man up will be in the Dallas bullpen because Cooper Rush has been a dependable QB2 for approaching a decade now. But McCarthy and Jones may opt for reinforcement should Prescott be forced to injured reserve in the midst of a difficult playoff push.

Let's take a look at the Cowboys' options beyond Prescott, starting with the two guys already on the active roster and expanding to a few more who could be brought in if Dallas believes its starting quarterback will be out for an extended period.

1. Cooper Rush (incumbent)

Rush will be the next man up. He's been on the roster since 2017. He knows the playbook. He's made six starts in his Cowboy career and won five of them.

That all sounds great, except for the fact he hasn't been especially good. Since 2022 he's completed less than 60 percent of his passes with a 6:5 touchdown-to-interception ratio in the rough equivalent of six starts (five actual starts and injury insertions). He was 4-1 in 2022 while Prescott worked through a thumb injury, but that was with an offense where Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard combined for nearly 2,000 rushing yards and buttressed by a top five scoring defense. In 2024 only one team in the NFL has rushed for fewer yards than Dallas. The defense ranks 31st in points allowed.

The Cowboys need a difference maker at quarterback to rally to the postseason. That, arguably, wasn't Prescott. The veteran was in the midst of his least efficient season as a passer this fall. But Rush is unlikely to add more than average quarterbacking at his peak. That should be enough to win a few games, but it's tough to see him being the difference between taking a flawed team to the postseason or sitting this one out.

2. Trey Lance (Rush's backup)

If Rush struggles, Dallas has the comfort of knowing a former top three draft pick is waiting in the wings. Unfortunately, that pick is Trey Lance, a quarterback who was soundly outplayed by the last pick of the 2022 NFL Draft and traded to Texas at the low cost of a late fourth round selection.

Lance hasn't played an NFL snap since being usurped by Brock Purdy in 2022. He completed just 15 of 31 passes that season before being lost for the year due to a broken ankle. 2024 marks his second season with the Cowboys and he'd failed to crack the top two when it comes to the quarterback depth chart before Prescott's injury.

There are positives to his game. His mobility brings an extra dimension to the offense and would be useful behind a line that allowed the league's worst pass rush to sack Prescott thrice in Week 9. He's willing to push the ball downfield (a 15.5 percent deep ball rate as a rookie). There's raw talent still untapped here.

However, Lance struggles to connect on those deep throws (a -18.1 percent completion percentage over expected in 2022). His runs generated just a 42.1 percent success rate when the Niners turned to him to tote the ball as a rookie. Most damningly, he failed to thrive in a network of run-after-catch playmakers proven to elevate their quarterback. What's he supposed to do with CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson and the assorted flotsam of the Dallas roster?

3. Ryan Tannehill (currently unemployed)

Tannehill is the highest profile quarterback remaining on the open market. He's 36 years old, but journeyman quarterbacks have thrived in flashes this season. He could provide the kind of spark Andy Dalton, Joe Flacco or Jameis Winston did in wins this fall (before promptly falling back to earth soon after).

The former Miami Dolphin and Tennessee Titan suffered through his least efficient season of the past decade in 2023, battling through injuries and eventually getting replaced by Will Levis as the Titans looked to their future. Tennessee offered him an undermanned offense last year, but Tannehill struggled with pressure and completed just 48.6 percent of his throws that traveled at least 10 yards downfield -- a career low.

Pair that with diminishing returns from his scrambling and you've got an aging player unable to do many of the things that once made him a Pro Bowler. Would the fresh legs of a late addition bring out his best? Could he be 2024's Flacco -- a November off-the-street signee who sparks a playoff run? It seems unlikely, but the Cowboys wouldn't get burned by doing their due diligence here.

4. Gardner Minshew II (Las Vegas Raiders)

Minshew began the season as the Raiders' starting quarterback but has twice been demoted -- once for Aidan O'Connell and in Week 9 for Desmond Ridder. That alone should disqualify him from contention, but Las Vegas is a bit of a mess and it's difficult to translate that to how he could perform in Dallas.

A deal for Minshew would likely come with a contract restructuring that folds his 2025 guaranteed money into the Cowboys' 2024 cap space (more than $21 million, per Over the Cap). That would free up cash for the Raiders' ongoing rebuild and likely make this an inexpensive deal for Jerry Jones to make before the November 5 trade deadline. Whether or not he wants Minshew is another question.

The young journeyman has been a mess for a Las Vegas offense that's had little go right. He's thrown more interceptions (eight) than touchdowns (six) and been forced to dial back his average throw distance to a career low 6.5 yards downfield. But he's been reasonably decent against the blitz (a 62 percent completion rate and 85.4 passer rating compared to 70 percent and a 76.4 rating when not blitzed) and could provide a higher floor than Rush thanks to his ability to check down efficiently.

Then again, if the difference between Rush and 2024 Minshew is negligible, why go out and add a duplicate passer to the lineup? Minshew may be available. The Cowboys may not care.

5. Taylor Heinicke (Los Angeles Chargers)

The list of available practice squad quarterbacks isn't especially encouraging. Dallas could take a flier on Michael Pratt, Sam Hartman or Jason Bean or opt to promote a more experienced passer like Mike White should it choose to place Prescott on IR and keep three QBs on the active roster.

There are some modest backups who might be available via trade -- Zach Wilson, Bailey Zappe, Jimmy Garoppolo. None would be a fix. The best of the bunch may be Heinicke, who is playing in front of longer-tenured backup Easton Stick in Los Angeles.

Heinicke is a 31-year-old veteran who recently lost a quarterback battle to Desmond Ridder and completed less than 55 percent of his passes with the 2023 Atlanta Falcons. He's not especially good at protecting the ball, but he's a viable scrambler capable of holding an offense together in stretches. He'd bring more starting experience than Rush, though how much of an upgrade he'd be is a reasonable question. Still, he'd likely be an inexpensive pickup as a pending free agent crossing conferences to wrap up 2024.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: 5 Cowboys quarterback options if Dak Prescott's hamstring injury takes long to heal