Skip to main content

Cooper Rush 'QB Controversy'? 'Don't Get It Twisted,' Says Dak Prescott Cowboys Teammates

NFL quarterback controversies don't happen on FS1 TV shows or on Reddit. When they happen, they happen in the locker room ... usually in the form of a subtle shift from one QB leader to the next. So, as it regards Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush, what is happening in the Cowboys locker room?

ARLINGTON - It should be taken as a compliment to the winning work of Cooper Rush that some people "outside the building'' believe there a budding quarterback controversy brewing in Dallas.

Cooper Rush - who helped the Dallas Cowboys improve to 3-1 on the season with Sunday's 25-10 win over the visiting Washington Commanders - embroiled in a "versus'' setup against No. 1 QB Dak Prescott?

That's not the way team owner Jerry Jones, hype machine aside, sees it.

That's not the way coach Mike McCarthy sees it.

That's not the way Rush - who won a game in Minnesota last year and is therefore now 4-0 as an NFL starting quarterback - sees it.

That's not the way Prescott - trying to rehab from his post-Week 1 thumb surgery so he can play next Sunday at the Rams or for certain in Week 6 at Philadelphia - sees it.

But here's the most important measure: How does the Dallas locker room see it?

"I say, 'Calm down,'' said Cowboys team leader DeMarcus Lawrence. "I know you’re happy for the football team but ... Don’t get it twisted.''

NFL quarterback controversies, you see, don't happen on FS1 TV shows or on Reddit. When they happen, they happen in the locker room ... usually in the form of a subtle shift from one QB leader to the next.

Lawrence is trying to make it clear that here ... there is no such shift.

Some of these guys experienced this in 2016, Prescott's rookie season, when he subbed in for Tony Romo and after 11 straight wins, there was a shift - and then-coach Jason Garrett made the temperature-taking decision to stick with Dak.

This - no matter what a media member or fan thinks - is not that. And it is not that because the locker room is saying so.

The Cowboys hope to have Prescott back as early as next week, when they face the Rams in Los Angeles. If Prescott isn't healthy enough to go quite yet, they will continue to ride their Cinderella story of the undrafted journeyman having a chance to go 5-0 as a starting quarterback.

It's a big story.

But it's not a big controversy.

Follow FishSports on Twitter

Follow Cowboys / Fish on Facebook

Subscribe to the Cowboys Fish Report on YouTube for constant daily Cowboys live-stream podcasts and reports!