Dallas Cowboys: 3 potential free agent backup passers
With quarterback guru Mike McCarthy now the Dallas Cowboys head coach, will the team look to upgrade their backup passer position in free agency?
If the Dallas Cowboys had to play a football today, they’d likely have to start quarterback Clayton Thorson under center. That’s because both of the team’s top passers, Dak Prescott and Cooper Rush, are scheduled to become free agents next month.
Prescott, an unrestricted free agent, is currently amidst contract talks with the Cowboys and is a candidate to receive the franchise tag. While Rush is a restricted free agent meaning the Cowboys have the right of first refusal to match any offers he might get elsewhere.
New head coach Mike McCarthy, formerly of the Green Bay Packers, is now at the helm of America’s Team. And the quarterback guru whose worked with the likes of Joe Montana, Brett Favre, and Aaron Rodgers likely has his own definition of what makes for the best backup quarterback.
If the Cowboys decide to move on from Rush this offseason, here are three potential free agent quarterbacks Dallas could target when the market opens next month.
Marcus Mariota, QB
A former first-round selection, Marcus Mariota could be the ideal backup for Prescott in Dallas. Just 26-years old, Mariota has started in a total of 61 games during his five-year stint with the Tennessee Titans.
Still a very talented passer who could benefit from McCarthy’s mentorship, adding Mariota to the roster would likely keep the Cowboys competitive if Prescott were to go down. His best season was in 2016 when he threw for 3,426 yards, 26 touchdowns, and nine interceptions with a quarterback rating of 95.6.
Colt McCoy, QB
If you’ve been a fan of the Cowboys for any significant amount of time, you know the name Colt McCoy. That’s not only because of his time at the University of Texas, but for his play as the primary backup quarterback for the Washington Redskins the last five seasons.
Even more specifically, for his play against the Cowboys. In his last matchup against Dallas, the now 33-year old McCoy recorded 268 passing yards, threw two touchdowns, three interceptions while completing 68.7 percent of his throws in a 31-23 loss back in November of 2018.
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Brett Hundley, QB
The connection between the Cowboys and Brett Hundley is clear cut. A fifth-round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers out of UCLA, Hundley was seemingly handpicked by Mike McCarthy to backup Aaron Rodgers.
In McCarthy’s final full season in Green Bay, Hundley started nine games for the Packers in 2017. The 26-year old threw for 1,836 yards, nine touchdowns and 12 interceptions completing 60.8 of his passes and winning just three games in that stretch.