Cowboys' Week 18 quarterback plans could cost Cooper Rush big money

Rush has been the starting quarterback for the entire second half of the season following Dak Prescott's season-ending injury.

Lance getting playing time on Sunday would be significant because Rush, who is a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason, would get a $250,000 bonus if he plays in 55% of the team's offensive snaps, according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk.

He already earned a $250,000 bonus for playing in 45% of the team's snaps. 

Based on the math, Rush would need to play around 65 snaps on Sunday to reach his next bonus level. 

But if Lance ends up getting significant playing time, that would be an almost impossible number for him to reach, and it could cost him a nice little bonus. 

Is that playing into the Cowboys' decision-making?

A lot of times, teams will go out of their way to get players to reach their performance incentives, but that tends to come from their teammates and even coaches. This could be the type of call that comes from upstairs, and Jones is an owner who has an enormous input into what happens with his team on the field. 

The timing of the Cowboys deciding to use Lance is also suspect in this situation. The Cowboys season has been pretty much over for a few weeks now, and they could have been using that time to give Lance more snaps and evaluate him. Instead, he has mostly been stapled to the bench and only given an occasional snap here and there. He has attempted seven passes in three appearances, while also running the ball five times. 

Lance was the No. 3 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFL Draft and arrived in the NFL with the hopes of being a franchise quarterback. It never worked out for him in San Francisco due to injuries, inconsistent play and the emergence of Brock Purdy. He was eventually traded to the Cowboys, where he has mostly sat on the bench behind Prescott and Rush.