What Dallas Cowboys should do at backup quarterback position
As we shift our focus to the Dallas Cowboys offseason, there is one position that everybody is talking about: quarterback. More specifically: Dak Prescott. Prescott enters the offseason without a long-term deal for the second year in a row, giving Cowboys fans some uneasiness. Prescott, who is coming off a gruesome ankle injury, is expected […]
As we shift our focus to the Dallas Cowboys offseason, there is one position that everybody is talking about: quarterback. More specifically: Dak Prescott. Prescott enters the offseason without a long-term deal for the second year in a row, giving Cowboys fans some uneasiness.
Prescott, who is coming off a gruesome ankle injury, is expected to stay in Dallas for at least another season — whether that be through inking a contract extension or by the Cowboys placing the franchise tag on the signal caller.
With offensive coordinator Kellen Moore signing a three-year contract extension to remain as the team's offensive coordinator, all signs point to Prescott staying in the Lone Star State. That brings up the next questions: what should the Cowboys do at backup quarterback behind their franchise star?
Andy Dalton will likely command too much in free agency.
The Cowboys signed Andy Dalton this offseason in a move that garnered a good deal of attention. Dalton was widely regarded as the top backup quarterback on the market, so the move made sense — why not sign a proven, veteran quarterback to a team-friendly, one-year deal?
On the flip side, Prescott had never missed a game heading into the season. There was the week 16 game against the Eagles in 2019 when Prescott struggled to throw the football due to an injury on his throwing arm and shoulder, but Prescott had started every single game since entering the league in 2016. The thought was that Dalton would provide the Cowboys with a security blanket in case Prescott had to miss a game or two.
Little did the Cowboys know that Prescott would suffer a major injury and Dalton would be thrusted into long-term action. Dalton proved to be a game manager for the Cowboys during Prescott's absence and may have earned himself an opportunity to be a bridge quarterback for a franchise bringing in a young gunslinger.
Garrett Gilbert showed promise as potential backup quarterback.
Andy Dalton was forced to miss a pair of games due to being placed on the COVID-19 list and a concussion that he suffered in the team's first meeting with Washington. With Dalton out of action, Dallas turned to two different options: seventh-round rookie Ben DiNucci and former Texas Longhorns and SMU Mustangs signal caller Garrett Gilbert.
DiNucci struggled mightily in his first start against the Philadelphia Eagles — not a big surprise, considering the James Madison product had no preseason games to work on his craft and was drafted to be a developmental prospect.
Garrett, however, looked more than capable in his first NFL start against a strong and talented Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
The Lake Travis High School product threw for 243 yards and one touchdown while averaging 6.39 yards per attempt and largely keeping the Dallas Cowboys in striking distance to win the game. Gilbert did not light the world on fire or anything, but he did complete some impressive throws during said game:
The Cowboys inked Gilbert, who starred in the AAF, in October off of the Cleveland Browns practice squad after Prescott went down in week five. Gilbert did not attempt another pass for the remainder of the season following the Steelers game in which the Cowboys nearly handed Pittsburgh its first loss of the year.
Assuming another team is willing to pay Dalton, the Cowboys would be smart to move forward with Garrett Gilbert as the team's QB2. Gilbert is a low-cost option that has already shown some ability to step in and be adequate when needed.
Cowboys could also spend another late-round pick on a quarterback.
A different route that the Cowboys could take is selecting a quarterback in the upcoming 2021 NFL Draft. No, not draft a quarterback in the first-round to replace Dak Prescott; rather, spend a day-three selection on a developmental prospect behind number four.
Dallas did exactly that in the first-year of the Mike McCarthy era when they drafted DiNucci out of James Madison in the last round of the draft. While DiNucci, unsurprisingly, struggled during the playing time that he received in his rookie season, it is a smart strategy overall.
The concern would be that there would be little-to-no experience behind Prescott, who — as mentioned already — is coming off of a major injury, and it remains to be seen how he recovers. Still, Prescott has otherwise largely shown to be durable throughout his career. With his expected upcoming big pay day, it may not be a bad idea to be cheap at depth behind him.
Overall, the best bet would be for the Cowboys to bring Garrett Gilbert back to the fold while either keeping Ben DiNucci in the organization or drafting another developmental prospect late in April's draft.
Featured image via Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
