4 easy cuts Cowboys can make to save $17 million in cap space

3. Cooper Rush, QB

The Cowboys have to see what they have in Trey Lance at some point, right? Dak Prescott has suffered some freak injuries in his career, but he's started at least 16 games in two of the last three seasons. Rush has performed admirably in Prescott's stead, but Lance's upside makes him expendable.

Lance spent all of the 2023 season as emergency third-string QB on game days. He was always expected to redshirt after he was traded from the 49ers. The timing of the trade made it impossible for Lance to grasp Mike McCarthy's offense and develop chemistry with Dallas' pass-catchers in time to supplant Rush as the backup.

This year, Lance gets a full offseason to learn under McCarthy to go with a full regular season of learning behind Prescott and Rush.

Cowboys fans have long speculated if the team might use Rush as trade bait. Well, they can save the same amount of cap space if they trade or cut him: $2.25 million, per Over The Cap. Rush has been a good servant, but it's time to promote Lance after Dallas traded a 2024 fourth-round pick for him in August.