There have been a lot of discussions about what the Dallas Cowboys are going to do at the quarterback position this offseason. Questions remain about whether Dak Prescott is the kind of player that can elevate a team to become Super Bowl contenders as he and the Cowboys came up short again this season.
The Cowboys became the first No. 2 seed to lose to a No. 7 seed since the NFL expanded the playoffs, getting crushed by the Green Bay Packers 48-32 at AT&T Stadium. Some people think that should be Prescott’s final game as the team’s starter, but making that a reality is easier said than done.
Prescott has an exorbitant $59.4 million cap hit for 2024, so moving on from him is virtually impossible. An extension is almost a necessity to lower that cap hit because cutting or trading him would result in more than $61 million of dead cap.
He is almost assured of being back with the Cowboys for at least one more season. But, his backup, Cooper Rush, may not be as fortunate. In the opinion of Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report, Rush is someone who could be on the chopping block in Dallas this offseason.
“Dumping Rush would only save $2.3 million in cap space, but it’s an easy cut to justify, and the Cowboys need all the cap space they can muster,” writes Knox. “Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb are both entering the final year of their current deals and are very likely to receive extensions in 2024.”
The extensions for Lamb and Prescott will be expensive, so every dollar the Cowboys can save will be worthwhile. Rush proved to be a worthwhile backup when he stepped into the starting lineup for an injured Prescott during the 2022 season.
That earned him a two-year contract worth $6 million. But, the Cowboys also acquired Trey Lance, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, from the San Francisco 49ers last summer. The team could be comfortable using him in a backup role, making Rush expendable.
Trading for Lance hints at the Cowboys believing that they can make something out of him. While he may not be an option as a long-term starter, even turning into a reliable backup would be worth the fourth-round pick the team sent to San Francisco.
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