FRISCO, Texas – The quarterback news keeps coming.
Less than 48 hours after they signed Andy Dalton, the Cowboys have released Cooper Rush, clearing up the quarterback depth chart just a bit.
The decision to sign Dalton didn't look like good news for Rush, who was slated to play this season on a one-year, $2.1 million tender. That's a hefty price tag for a third-string quarterback, and it seemed fairly obvious that Dalton, a nine-year veteran and a three-time Pro Bowler, would take Rush's place as the Cowboys' backup.
A four-year starter at Central Michigan, the Cowboys found Rush as an undrafted free agent following the 2017 NFL Draft. They took him to training camp alongside Luke McCown and Zac Dysert, where he competed to be the team's third quarterback behind Dak Prescott and Kellen Moore.
Rush turned heads during that 2017 preseason, as he completed 74% of his passes for 398 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions in just four games. It was a good enough performance to convince the coaching staff to keep him as their third quarterback.
When Moore was eventually released during the 2017 season, Rush moved into the backup role, where he had remained until now.
Thanks to Prescott's durability, that hasn't meant much in the way of playing time outside the preseason. In almost three full seasons as the Cowboys' backup, Rush had appeared in just five games, completing one of just three pass attempts for two yards.
That lack of experience is likely part of the reason why the Cowboys moved to sign Dalton. In nine seasons as the Bengals' signal-caller, Dalton started 133 games and threw for 31,594 yards and 204 touchdowns.
