Will Grier vs. Cooper Rush: Cowboys QB Change Behind Dak Prescott?
This, we can promise you, was not the plan as of a few months ago.
The Dallas Cowboys were going to be largely reliant on Dak Prescott for all things offense, and no change there. But behind him? There was a belief inside The Star that Cooper Rush had become "established'' as the No. 1 ... and that Will Grier was closer to the guy behind him (No. 4 Ben DiNucci) than he was Rush.
Oh, and Dallas was only going to keep two QBs, so ...
“I think Will has taken a big step,'' Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said this weekend. "I really like the camp he’s had. He’s definitely made a move this week.”
Grier is entering his second season with the Cowboys after joining the team in September of 2021. He didn't play last season, but the former third-round pick from West Virginia did spend time in the classroom. And that is starting to pay off, it seems, with a competition brewing between him and Rush.
Rush has his win at Minnesota last year to his credit. He's 28, came to Dallas as a UDFA, and has bounced back and forth as a member of the club.
Grier is 27, lacks skins on the wall - he started twice in his rookie season of 2019, both losses - and is still trying to find his NFL way.
But, McCarthy said of Grier, "You can see the instinct and awareness. Coming out of college I think that was something that jumped out for him. Will has played a lot of quarterback, came out of the womb playing quarterback for his (coach) dad. So now you’re starting to see that in his comfort in our system ...
“He’s just playing quarterback again.''
Grier and Rush are probably knotted in terms of understanding the offense. One does have a tremendous physical edge over the other. Which could go win a regular-season game if Dak Prescott is unavailable? That's the central question, with possible answers starting to reveal themselves on Saturday in the preseason debut at Denver, where Prescott won't play ... and where these guys need to play well.
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