Dallas Cowboys: 4 potential backup quarterback options
By Connor Green
The Dallas Cowboys offseason has largely revolved around questions surrounding the teams’ starting quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott, who was franchise tagged by the organization last offseason after it failed to sign him to a long-term deal, is once again the teams’ most important free agent. However, the Cowboys might want to start paying attention to who will fill the role of his (likely) backup.
Last year America’s Team was plagued with inconsistent play and injuries from the start of the regular season. The organization suffered several significant injuries throughout the course of 2020 with the most notable one coming in Dallas’s week five matchup against the New York Giants. In that game, their starting quarterback, Dak Prescott, went down with a gruesome, season-ending ankle injury.
Heading into that game Prescott was on pace to break Peyton Mannings’ single-season passing yardage record and the offense had scored at least 30 points in three of its first four games. In the teams’ next seven games they only managed to achieve that feat once. Needless to say, Dallas suffered without its starting signal-caller on the field.
The remainder of the season served as a stark reminder of the importance of having a quality backup quarterback. After that seven-game stretch of immense offensive struggles during which Dallas only managed to win one game, the teams’ veteran backup quarterback Andy Dalton began to get comfortable in the offense.
The three-time Pro Bowl signal-caller managed to lead the organization to a 3-1 record in the final quarter of the season and managed to help the offense score 30 points or more in three of its last four games. However, Dalton will also be a free agent this offseason and will likely cost more to bring back than the $7 million he cost the team last year.
The organizations’ current backup signal-caller is projected to be Garrett Gilbert, assuming the team brings back Prescott. However, there are several other possibilities to fill that important role in both free agency and the draft. Without further ado here is a list of four potential backup quarterbacks for the Dallas Cowboys in 2021.