Yesterday, Dak Prescott underwent surgery to repair his fractured thumb that was injured late in the Dallas Cowboys’ Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The team hasn’t released an official timeline as to when the seventh-year QB could suit up again. In the meantime, Cooper Rush will take over as QB1 for the Cowboys.
The problem is Rush hasn’t proven to be a suitable answer at QB for consecutive weeks while Prescott is sidelined. Rush has been with Dallas since 2017 and in that time, he’s appeared in only 11 games and has started just once. Here are his career statistics:
- 38/63 on passing attempts (60.3%), 488 yards, three touchdowns and one interception
With such uncertainty at QB while Rush takes the reins, is it possible the Cowboys look to the trade market for a passer that can fill in while Prescott gets healthy? Let’s evaluate on possibility:
Could Cowboys trade for Jimmy G?
This past offseason, the San Francisco 49ers tried dealing Jimmy Garoppolo, but couldn’t find a trade partner. The 49ers then restructured Garoppolo’s contract, so he’s now playing on a one-year contract worth $6.5 million.
San Francisco was keen to trade Garoppolo because they decided to make Trey Lance the starting QB this season.
Garoppolo has been in the NFL since 2014, starting a total of 47 games. Garoppolo’s regular season record as a starter is 33-14, and here are his career statistics:
- 960/1,418 on passing attempts (67.7%), 11,52 yards, 71 touchdowns and 38 interceptions
Garoppolo would undoubtedly be an upgrade at QB over Rush. Not only does Garoppolo have more regular season experience compared to Rush, but he’s also played on some big stages in the playoffs. The former Eastern Illinois Panther (yes, the same college Tony Romo attended) led the 49ers to the Super Bowl in 2019, and the NFC Championship game last season.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was asked about potentially trading Garoppolo to Dallas and had this to say:
“Just like all players, we’ll listen to anybody on anything. That never changes for any player or coach. We’ll always listen to anybody.”
Why Cowboys aren’t rushing to trade
There are a few reasons why Dallas trading for Garoppolo isn’t in the cards.
The first is that this morning on 105.3 The Fan, Jerry Jones said Prescott isn’t going to be placed on injured reserve, which would make him eligible to return in less than four weeks. Here’s what Jones said:
“We want him to be in consideration for playing within the next four games. We feel better about it than we did Sunday night.”
The other reason why Dallas isn’t likely to trade for Garoppolo is based on the lack of activity from the Cowboys this offseason. They haven’t made any big name trades or free agent signings.
The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns, and Cedrick Wilson signed with the Miami Dolphins. The Cowboys covered those departures by signing James Washington, drafting Jalen Tolbert and signing undrafted free agent Dennis Houston.
Randy Gregory signed with the Denver Broncos this offseason. Dallas responded by signing Dante Fowler to a cheap deal and drafting Sam Williams.
The Cowboys have shown a reluctance towards spending big to acquire talent. It’s hard to imagine that will change in wake of the Prescott injury, especially when Jones projects the QB to return to action sooner than expected.
