The Dallas Cowboys (3-7) are off to their worst 10-game start to a season since 2020 when they also started 3-7. The common thread is that quarterback Dak Prescott suffered season-ending injuries in both seasons, fracturing his ankle in 2020 and tearing his hamstring in 2024.
Dallas has opted to roll with Cooper Rush, the eight-year veteran backup, in Prescott's absence this year. Despite losing by a combined score of 68-16 in his two starts in Week 10 vs. the Philadelphia and in Week 11 vs. the Houston Texans, they are sticking with him as the starter in Week 12 at the Washington Commanders, a reunion game with former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn who is now Washington's coach. The Cowboys will also have packages for backup quarterback Trey Lance, the San Francisco 49ers' third overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft whom they acquired for the price of a fourth-round pick at the end of the 2023 preseason. They also brought in veteran Will Grier to be their third, emergency quarterback, but Dallas, along with the NFL's 31 other teams, has a shot to add a six-year NFL veteran with plenty of starting experience in quarterback Daniel Jones.
The New York Giants released Jones on Friday after benching him for Tommy DeVito, so CBS Sports asked Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy about the chance to add Jones just before Dallas plays New York on Thanksgiving Day in Week 13. Dallas doing so would provide the NFL world with peak Turkey Day drama, but McCarthy indicated such a move likely won't be happening.
"I've never really been in the business of looking at players based off the team they are released from, especially with the timing of the next game," McCarthy said on a conference call on Friday. "He was a prospect I really liked coming out, but we kind of have our head down right now and really focused on working with the guys we have here."
Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones later echoed McCarthy's sentiments when asked about the possibility of Jones coming to Dallas.
"No, I think we're in good shape at our quarterback spot," Jones said. "We think Cooper (Rush) gives us the best chance to win right now. And certainly we still want to see some. We'll kind of see how the season goes here. We still really want to see (Trey) Lance and like what he brings to the table. And then, of course, long term, we all know we made our commitment to Dak (Prescott) for the long term."
The Giants made Jones the sixth overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft out of Duke, and his highwater mark came in 2022, the first season under current coach Brian Daboll. Jones produced career highs in passing yards (3,205), passing yards per attempt (6.8) and passer rating (92.5). He also threw a career-low five interceptions that season en route to the Giants going 9-6-1 and reaching the postseason. Daboll won NFL Coach of the Year that season, and Jones helped lead New York to an NFC wild-card round road victory at the Minnesota Vikings. He threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns on 24 of 35 passing, and he added another 78 yards on the ground on 17 carries. Jones is the only player in NFL history to throw for over 300 yards passing and multiple touchdowns while rushing for at least 70 yards in a single postseason game.
Throughout his career, he has been plagued by turnovers and inefficiency. His 73 turnovers since entering the NFL in 2019 are tied for the fifth-most in the league in that span despite missing the final 11 games of the 2023 season with a torn ACL. Among 28 NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passes thrown since Jones entered the NFL in 2019, his 84.3 career passer rating ranks as second-worst ahead of only Sam Darnold's 82.3 passer rating. The Giants started 2-8 this season with Jones ranking last in the NFL among quarterbacks with at least 10 starts in both touchdown passes (eight) and passer rating (79.4).