It seems clear that the Cowboys want Trey Lance to be their backup quarterback. Given that, should the Cowboys trade Cooper Rush? He's proven he can win games in the NFL, so could he perhaps bring back a valuable depth player to help bolster another area, say, defensive tackle or cornerback? – Robert Mathis/St. Louis, MO
Nick Eatman: You're right about the fact the Cowboys seem to want Trey Lance to get a lot of work. But that doesn't mean he'll beat out Rush as the No. 2. At this point, Rush has shown the ability to win games when called upon. The jury is still out on Lance right now. He just hasn't had a lot of opportunities and there is a reason for that as well. So to me, I'm not rushing (no pun intended) to make any moves right now. If Lance doesn't play well in the preseason, then you obviously keep Rush where he is. If Lance does light it up, the Cowboys might be looking to trade Rush or even Lance, depending on what they can. This could be an audition for Lance with other teams as well. So there's a lot of balls up in the air. I just don't see Rush going anywhere right now, especially before the end of the preseason.
Kurt: Everything we've been hearing about Lance from the coaches and front office this offseason has been positive, so it does seem like the Cowboys would like him to take that next step and move in behind Dak Prescott as the No. 2 quarterback on the roster. With his mobility, he may provide more of the same skill set as Prescott, which might make the transition smoother for the offense if he were to come into the game. Rush isn't what you would call mobile, then again, he hasn't had much trouble in the past taking the field when needed. There is also the fact that the Cowboys gave up a fourth-round pick in this year's draft for Lance, a pick they very much needed. They'd obviously like to get some kind of return on that investment, so as they've said, they're going to give him every opportunity in training camp and especially the preseason games to see what he can do. Still, I doubt the team would want to give up a known quantity in Rush. He's proven he's a solid backup, and there aren't a lot of those out there, so trading one away seems risky. But you never know. If Lance clearly wins the No. 2 job, the Cowboys might have to think hard about keeping Rush on the active roster, especially when they could possibly get something helpful in return. Regardless, we probably won't find out one way or the other until the regular season is here.
