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Cowboys Dak Prescott Reacts to Trey Lance Trade: 'Welcome the Talent!' Notebook

Though the Dallas Cowboys have yet to officially welcome Trey Lance to the building, the impact of his impending arrival was felt both directly and coincidentally in the preseason finale against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The Dallas Cowboys are carrying some positive momentum headed into the regular season after putting together an all-around performance in Saturday's 31-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders at AT&T Stadium in the preseason finale.

It may not seem like it on the surface, but the Cowboys acquiring San Francisco 49ers quarterback Trey Lance via trade on Friday had an odd ripple effect on Saturday. ... and Dak Prescott was asked about it.

“I obviously understand that it’s a business,'' Prescott said. "That’s a first-round talent. You always try to make your team better. We’re gonna welcome him as we do any teammate. Hopefully it makes us better. … He seems like a great guy.”

Will Grier's farewell The arrival of Lance clearly sent quarterback Will Grier into "F' it!" mode.

Grier will almost certainly be cut by Tuesday with Lance set to be the QB3 in Dallas. As a result, the coaching staff let him rip it for the entire game on Saturday, and he played nearly perfect as a result.

Going out with a bang, Grier went 29 of 35 passing for 305 yards and two touchdowns with a 122 passer rating. He added 10 carries for 53 yards and two more scores, showing teams in need of quarterback depth that he could be a reliable addition.

Grier's performance was also impressive since he severely out-performed Raiders rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell, who has been a star in the preseason.

Nothing is certain yet, but this felt like Grier's goodbye to Dallas. If it was, it was a damn good one.

Hunter Luepke gashes Raiders It's quite fitting that a day after the Cowboys traded for his former college teammate, Trey Lance, rookie running back Hunter Luepke showed out for Dallas in the preseason finale.

It might be tough for him to make the final 53 considering the running backs already present, but Luepke might've just earned himself a spot on the practice squad after leading the Cowboys in rushing with 15 carries for 58 yards. He would've been the team's leading receiver as well if not for a 33-yard catch by Tyron Johnson on the game's final possession, as Luepke finished with five catches for 60 yards and a 15-yard touchdown along with a 29-yard reception as well.

Maybe Lance will help put in a good word for his former teammate.

Coach Dak With Dak Prescott calling the plays, the Cowboys had their best outing of the preseason. Dallas got its first win of the preseason while putting up 31 points, the most the team has scored during the three exhibition games.

The Cowboys' offense was efficient, effective and turnover-free. Dallas was 4 of 4 in the red zone (three touchdowns) while dominating time of possession (35:40 to 24:20) and total plays run (71 to 50).

Prescott has his sights set on ending Dallas' Super Bowl drought, but he's definitely showing he's got a future in coaching once his playing days are over.

More WR depth? The Cowboys saw what they have in the offseason addition of Johnson, who showed his NFL experience under the preseason lights.

Now on his fifth team after stints with the Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and Raiders, Johnson turned in a nice performance after catching just two passes on Dallas' first two preseason games. He led the team with five grabs for 90 yards.

Though it's possible he ends up on the practice squad, Johnson could be an occasional threat to burn secondaries deep on random instances if he's called up. His average yards per catch in his career is 19.9 for a reason.


You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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