Andy Dalton out and Ben DiNucci benched
How did Garrett Gilbert as the potential starting QB for the Dallas Cowboys come to be? Well it all started a few weeks ago when Dak Prescott fractured his right ankle against the New York Giants, leaving the Cowboys without their star QB for the rest of the season. Even with a veteran backup in Andy Dalton, the Cowboys signed Gilbert to their practice squad just incase of the worst. Well the worst happened. Andy Dalton suffered a concussion against the Washington Football Team and rookie 7th round pick Ben DiNucci got the week 8 start against Philadelphia Eagles.
The problem? That didn’t go so well. There was no NFL preseason due to Covid and Ben DiNucci lacked valuable rookie snaps as a result. Against the Eagles, DiNucci was sporadic at best and struggled for most of the game. On Tuesday, it was announced that Andy Dalton was placed on the NFL’s reserved Covid-19 list. Dalton will miss Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers as a result and DiNucci is not expected to start.
Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush?
Following Ben DiNucci’s subpar performance in Philadelphia, it was announced that the starting QB battle is between Garrett Gilbert and Cooper Rush. Cooper Rush wore the #7 jersey for 3 years in Dallas and was one of Dak Prescott’s backups in the Jason Garrett era. Rush was shortly reunited with Garrett earlier this season in New York, before being released from the Giants’ practice squad. Gilbert replaced an injured Colt McCoy in the NCAA National Championship game for the Texas Longhorns a decade ago, before transferring to SMU and going on to become a star in the short-lived Alliance of American Football or AAF.
According to Ian Rapoport, the Cowboys are leaning towards starting Garrett Gilbert Sunday against the Steelers. Gilbert attempted 3 passes last season for the Cleveland Browns, but has never started a game in the NFL. After throwing 13 TDs for Coach Steve Spurrier’s Orlando Apollos in the AAF, Gilbert looks to make his starting debut.
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