Should Cowboys Trade For Cam Newton's Patriots QB Backup?
FRISCO - The Dallas Cowboys are plowing toward Sunday's NFL preseason finale with a large question mark at the position of what we like to call "the 12th starter on offense.''
That would be quarterback, where Dak Prescott is close enough to 100 percent to not be a worry ... but where Cooper Rush vs. Garrett Gilbert (and no, not "vs.'' Ben DiNucci) should be concerning.
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Should Dallas call the New England Patriots to trade for one of their assortment of backup QBs? Say, Jarrett Stidham?
Coach Bill Belichick just named Cam Newton as his No. 1 QB. Rookie first-round Mac Jones is the backup. New England also has on its roster Brian Hoyer (who is superior to any of Dallas' backups) and Stidham, who never quite developed into "the next Tom Brady'' as the Patriots once envisioned.
But ... he was highly-touted by some coming out of Auburn before being selected in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. And before last year's acquisition of Newton, he was slated to be Belichick's starter.
That alone makes him better than Rush, who somehow has nudged ahead of Gilbert, with the two of them scheduled to joust in the preseason finale against visiting Jacksonville on Sunday ... right?
The Boston Herald’s Andrew Callahan suggested a trade proposal that would have the Cowboys landing Stidham in exchange for receiver Cedric Wilson.
That one is a bit of a problem for us. Why give anything of value (Wilson is Dallas' fourth receiver) for a player in Stidham, who it seems to us is destined to be cut?
Maybe Cooper Rush or Garrett Gilbert will on Sunday be so dazzling that this sort of idea fades away. Or maybe the Cowboys are kidding themselves, as it appears is the case when we reflect on owner Jerry Jones' recent comments on the issue.
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Jones on Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan admitted to Dallas being "vulnerable'' at backup QB. "But,'' he then tried to reason, "we had it backed up last year the best that I’ve ever seen (with Andy Dalton), and it didn’t work for us ... So no matter what you put there, it doesn’t necessarily have the results that you want.''
That is an odd way of looking at this.
It's one thing to bring up the salary cap, and Jerry did that, saying, “You look around the league and most clubs don’t break the bank at backup quarterback when you got the premium player (Prescott at $40 million APY) we have at quarterback.''
However, in the case of Stidham? He's still on his rookie deal, with two years remaining on the $3 million contract. He is slated to make $850,000 this season.
So money isn't the issue here.
Is the issue that Rush is suddenly good enough? Jones said, "We can do everything, we can do our complete portfolio as far as our offense is concerned, with Cooper Rush.''
Rush's ability to run this offense in a way that is "similar'' to Dak's way, though, is missing the point. That's about "style.'' It's not about the "substance'' that establishes that Dallas can win with Rush.
Jerry's most honest take here? "We’ll see how this game checks out with the competition here and then we’ll make a decision this weekend,'' he said.
The next NFL cutdown deadline (to 53) comes Tuesday. While Dallas is watching its own QB competition, it should be watching the waiver wire, too. Because New England's No. 4 QB might be better than Dallas' No. 2 QB.
