Cowboys vs Steelers: Who Plays QB?

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott left training camp practice last week with a shoulder strain. Head coach Mike McCarthy said he would be out of practice for a couple of weeks just as a precaution.

The next day, Prescott was participating in practice in full pads. He wasn't throwing the ball but was going through drills and handing the ball off. The Cowboys said he might be back throwing within just a few days.

Now it appears the original timeline is back in play, and that Prescott will not be throwing anytime soon.

The Cowboys are scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Steelers tonight in the Hall of Fame game, so that leaves McCarthy with a decision. Who will get the majority of the snaps behind center with the first-team unit?

The logical choice is Garrett Gilbert, who started last season's week nine matchup against the Steelers and almost ended their undefeated season bid. Gilbert also has more experience in the NFL as a starter than either of McCarthy's other options, second-year player Ben DiNucci and veteran backup Cooper Rush.

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Garrett has appeared in seven NFL games but has started only one. For his career, he is 23-of-44 with 283 yards. All but 40 of those yards came in the game against Pittsburgh last year.

There's no indication that even if Prescott was healthy that he would be playing tonight anyway, and the plan all along might've been to evaluate a possible No. 2 quarterback for the season.

Either way, that evaluation process for McCarthy and the Cowboys starts tonight.

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