Every Cowboys starting quarterback ever: Full list
The Dallas Cowboys entered the NFL in 1960 and since then have had some incredibly talented quarterbacks taking the snaps for them. From icons like Troy Aikman, Roger Staubach, and plenty of others, the Cowboys have seen their fair share of talented signal-callers.
On the other side of the coin, the Cowboys have also had some forgettable names at the most important position in football. You'll see plenty of those on this list of every Cowboys starting quarterback in franchise history.
Let's take a trip down memory lane and look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 1960 to 1969
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Eddie LeBaron (1960-1963) | 28 (28) | 0 (0) |
Don Heinrich (1960) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Don Meredith (1960-1968) | 83 (83) | 4 (4) |
John Roach (1964) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Craig Morton (1965-1974) | 18 (47) | 1 (5) |
Jerry Rhome (1965-1968) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Roger Staubach (1969-1979) | 1 (114) | 0 (17) |
The first-ever quarterback in Dallas Cowboys history was Eddie LeBaron, who started 28 games for the 'Boys in four seasons. After LeBaron retired, Don Meredith became the predominant starter, starting 83 games in the 1960s, the most of the decade for any Dallas signal-caller. He also started the first playoff game in Cowboys history in the 1966 season.
Craig Morton and Roger Staubach also started at least one game for the Cowboys in the 60s but they'd get the majority of their starts in the next decade.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 1970 to 1979
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Craig Morton (1965-1974) | 29 (47) | 4 (5) |
Roger Staubach (1969-1979) | 113 (114) | 17 (17) |
Clint Longley (1974-1975) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Danny White (1976-1988) | 1 (92) | 0 (10) |
The Cowboys only had four quarterbacks start games for them in the 1970s with Staubach getting the majority of those starts. Morton kicked off the decade as the starter but eventually, the Navy quarterback took over and closed out the 70s as the starting quarterback of the Cowboys. He also leads the way with 17 playoff starts, the most by any Cowboys quarterback.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 1980 to 1989
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Danny White (1976-1988) | 91 (92) | 10 (10) |
Glenn Carano (1978-1983) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Gary Hogeboom (1980-1985) | 12 (12) | 0 (0) |
Steve Pelluer (1984-1988) | 27 (27) | 0 (0) |
Reggie Collier (1986) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Kevin Sweeney (1987-1988) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Troy Aikman (1989-2000) | 11 (165) | 0 (15) |
Steve Walsh (1989-1990) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
The Cowboys didn't have the same luck in the 1980s with eight different quarterbacks starting games for them. Danny White started the majority of those games with 91 starts under his belt in the 80s and making 10 playoff starts. Troy Aikman was drafted in 1989 and started 11 games his rookie year.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 1990 to 1999
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Troy Aikman (1989-2000) | 143 (165) | 15 (15) |
Babe Laufenberg (1989-1990) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Steve Beuerlein (1991-1992) | 4 (4) | 2 (2) |
Jason Garrett (1993-1999) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Bernie Kosar (1993) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Rodney Peete (1994) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Wade Wilson (1995-1997) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
While Aikman was the starter for the entire 1990s, he missed time due to various injuries, paving the way for guys like Steve Beuerlein and Jason Garrett to make a few starts. The rest of the starters from the 90s only started one game and that was all she wrote for them as Cowboys starting quarterbacks but at least it's a fun memory for them to have.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 2000 to 2009
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Troy Aikman (1989-2000) | 11 (165) | 0 (15) |
Randall Cunningham (2000) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Anthony Wright (2000-2001) | 5 (5) | 0 (0) |
Quincy Carter (2001-2003) | 31 (31) | 1 (1) |
Ryan Leaf (2001) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Clint Stoerner (2000-2001) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Chad Hutchinson (2002-2003) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Vinny Testaverde (2004) | 15 (15) | 0 (0) |
Drew Henson (2004) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Drew Bledsoe (2005-2006) | 22 (22) | 0 (0) |
Tony Romo (2004-2016) | 55 (127) | 4 (6) |
Brad Johnson (2007-2008) | 3 (3) | 0 (0) |
Troy Aikman played for one year of the 2000s, making him one of few quarterbacks who have played in three decades. Once Aikman hung up the cleats, the Cowboys had to find a new signal-caller, but didn't have much luck until they got to see what Tony Romo could do. Romo had the most starts of the 2000s with 55 and made four playoff starts.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 2010 to 2019
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Tony Romo (2004-2016) | 72 (127) | 2 (6) |
Jon Kitna (2010-2011) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Stephen McGee (2010-2011) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Kyle Orton (2012-2013) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Brandon Weeden (2014-2015) | 4 (4) | 0 (0) |
Matt Cassel (2015) | 7 (7) | 0 (0) |
Kellen Moore (2015) | 2 (2) | 0 (0) |
Dak Prescott (2016-Present) | 64 (114) | 3 (7) |
Romo also started the most games at quarterback for the Cowboys in the 2010s with 72 starts. He did get bit by the injury bug more than anyone would have liked though, which led to guys like Jon Kitna, Brandon Weeden, and Matt Cassel starting a handful of games.
In 2016, the Cowboys spent a fourth-round pick on Dak Prescott and he ended up getting thrust into action when Romo was injured ahead of Prescott's rookie year. Prescott dazzled as the starter and the rest is history. Romo retired and Prescott finished out the decade as Dallas' starting quarterback.
Cowboys starting quarterbacks from 2020 to Present
Name (Time spent with DAL) | Starts this decade (Career starts with Cowboys) | Playoff starts this decade (Career playoff starts with Cowboys) |
|---|---|---|
Dak Prescott (2016-Present) | 50 (114) | 4 (7) |
Andy Dalton (2020) | 9 (9) | 0 (0) |
Garrett Gilbert (2020) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Ben DiNucci (2020) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) |
Cooper Rush (2017-Present) | 6 (6) | 0 (0) |
Prescott has resumed the role of starting quarterback in Dallas through the 2020s but has had to miss time due to injuries. Andy Dalton started nine games in 2020 and Cooper Rush has the third-most starts of the decade with six.
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