Dallas Cowboys QB Andy Dalton placed on reserve/Covid-19 list
The Dallas Cowboys take on the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers this week, and the team will be without Andy Dalton for the second week in a row. Dalton was signed in the offseason to backup starter Dak Prescott in case of an emergency. Prescott suffered a season-ending injury earlier this year, meaning Dalton would be the […]
The Dallas Cowboys take on the undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers this week, and the team will be without Andy Dalton for the second week in a row.
Dalton was signed in the offseason to backup starter Dak Prescott in case of an emergency. Prescott suffered a season-ending injury earlier this year, meaning Dalton would be the guy behind center for the rest of the schedule.
The former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback had a rough outing in his first start of the season, passing for 266 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions against the Arizona Cardinals in a 38 to defeat. Then against Washington, Dalton was again off to a less-than-ideal start before taking a nasty hit from Jon Bostic that landed the quarterback in concussion protocol.
Dalton missed last week's game versus the Eagles due to the concussion that he suffered versus Washington. The hope was that the veteran signal-caller would be able to return tp the field in week nine against the stellar Steelers defense. Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case.
What does this mean for the Dallas Cowboys at the quarterback position?
With both Dak Prescott (out for the season) and Andy Dalton (reserve/COVID list) unavailable for the upcoming week, Mike McCarthy has a decision on his hands regarding who starts behind center.
Ben DiNucci did not look very comfortable in his first NFL start against the Eagles, throwing for 180 yards on 52 percent and fumbling the ball away. That is not unusual for a rookie seventh-round draft pick, but DiNucci probably does not inspire much confidence in McCarthy or offensive coordinator Kellen Moore — who actually had both Ezekiel Elliott and Cedrick Wilson take direct snaps on Sunday night.
Elsewhere on the roster, the Dallas Cowboys have former Texas Longhorns and SMU Mustangs quarterback Garrett Gilbert, as well as old friend Cooper Rush. Rush is familiar with Kellen Moore and the Cowboys due to his experience backing up Prescott before moving on to the Giants with Jason Garrett.
The Cowboys recently added Rush to its practice squad, but it appears there is a realistic chance that Rush starts for the Cowboys against the Steelers on Sunday, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
Shortly afterwards, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero added that the plan from McCarthy and company is to split first-team reps between Rush and Gilbert heading into the clash with the Steelers.
The plug on the DiNucci experiment seems to have been pulled after his struggles in Philadelphia. The Cowboys will be starting its third different quarterback since Prescott went down against the Giants, which is typically not a very good sign.
It will be interesting to see if the offense is able to have more success with Rush or Gilbert at the helm rather than Dalton or DiNucci. The odds of that aren't very high, though, as the Steelers may have the best defense in all of football.
Dak Prescott can't get healthy soon enough.
Featured image via Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
