Dak Prescott injury could push Cowboys to sign a quarterback

The Dallas Cowboys received sobering news on Wednesday. Their franchise quarterback, Dak Prescott, had suffered an injury early into training camp.

While the Cowboys have identified the injury as a muscle strain in his right shoulder and that Prescott’s considered day-to-day, others in the media including David Moore of the Dallas Morning News, think this strain could have him missing up to two weeks of camp.

This could be a wake-up call for the Cowboys’ organization that it’s finally time to find a more experienced quarterback to back up Prescott. Currently, the depth chart behind Dak includes Garrett Gilbert, Ben DiNucci, and Cooper Rush. This trio has a total of two NFL starts between them, both coming just last year.

In early 2020, the Cowboys took a major insurance policy out on Prescott by signing three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Andy Dalton as a backup. Up to that point, Dak hadn’t missed a single game in his entire four-year NFL career.

But when Prescott went down with a season-ending ankle injury in Week Five, the acquisition of Dalton seemed prophetic. He’d win four games under center for Dallas and leave in the offseason to join the Chicago Bears.

Prior to training camp, the Cowboys toyed with the idea of signing another quarterback to backup Prescott this summer. Dallas reportedly hosted both Jeff Driskel and Brett Hundley earlier this year, with each leaving The Star without a contract. Driskel has since joined the Houston Texans.

While the Cowboys appeared satisfied to enter camp with their current set of quarterbacks, the recent injury suffered by Prescott could spur them into action. Perhaps the team was waiting to see if more interesting names would hit the waiver wire this summer before making a move. They may no longer have that luxury.

While Hundley might be the favorite based on his familiarity with head coach Mike McCarthy and the fact the team has already met with him before, the name to watch could be Blake Bortles. The former first-rounder was recently released by the Green Bay Packers.

The 29-year old veteran passer started for the Jacksonville Jaguars for five straight seasons after he was drafted by the Jags third overall in 2014. Spending 2019 as a backup with the Los Angeles Rams, he’d play with the Denver Broncos last year and signed on with the Packers in March. Bortles has started in a total of 73 games in the NFL.

Some other veteran quarterbacks for the Dallas Cowboys to consider signing in free agency include Robert Griffin III, Matt Barkley, Matt Moore, Jake Rudock, and Sean Mannion.