FRISCO, Texas — Cooper Rush has acquitted himself fairly well for the majority of the back end of the season after being asked to step in for an injured Dak Prescott, though the Philadelphia Eagles continue to remain his kryptonite.
And as the Dallas Cowboys look to wrap up their tumultuous 2024 season against the Washington Commanders, head coach Mike McCarthy faces the question regarding the status of Trey Lance — i.e., will the former third-overall pick see significant playing time against in the finale?
"I really like what Cooper has done and I think we all have to recognize the job he's done to this point," said McCarthy on Monday. "But this is the time where you do think about — not just the quarterback position, but all the positions — making sure we do have information on our younger players. Frankly, we probably have a lot based on how much [the non-quarterbacks] have played."
As McCarthy went on to explain, the decision is simply not yet made.
"We're not looking to answer those kinds of questions right now," he added. "We'll talk about that moving forward but I'd like to be in a position where everybody plays but, being practical as far as how we make that happen, we'll put together a gameplan over the next 36 hours."
That's a sentiment mostly echoed by the team's front office, though with a bit more clarity.
"Yeah, I think we'll see how the week plays out," said executive vice president and director of player personnel Stephen Jones to DallasCowboys.com. "But, yes, I think we're going to see more of him and could see quite a bit of him. He's obviously worked his tail off. Cooper has done a great job with this team but, at the same time, we might want to a good, long, hard look at Trey this weekend and see what he has.
"We'll see how practice goes this week."
It seems a foregone conclusion the Cowboys would put Lance on the field for more than just a handful of reps (or less) in a contest that decides nothing for Dallas and little to nothing of note for the Commanders, seeing as the latter clinched their playoff spot by virtue of defeating the Atlanta Falcons in overtime shortly after the Eagles pummeled their rivals from Texas.
But, again, the decision on Lance and/or Grier has not been made.
"Obviously, we've stressed it, since the moment we got behind in the playoff race, that we want to win football games," Jones said. "Certainly we want to win the Washington game. We've had a tough road to hoe here at home this year. We'd love to give our loyal fans a good win against the Commanders."
As far as their readiness goes — Grier having reunited with the Cowboys in mid-November and Lance having had an entire offseason of preparation along with the regular season itself — should their number(s) get called, it's go time.
"Trey is ready to play. Will is ready to play," said McCarthy. "I like our quarterbacks room. Those guys are really sharp in their gameplans. They've been great teammates and assets in helping Cooper get ready each week, just like Cooper did for Dak.
"… I'm proud of how that room works together, and all three of those guys will be ready to play."
Time will tell who'll get the start, and what their piece of the final pie will look like.
